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Rhubarb Lemonade by Oskar Kroon: Review

Rhubarb Lemonade
Oskar Kroon
Translated by A. A. Prime
Hot Key Books, June 2023
Paperback £7.99
ISBN 9781471413124

13-year-old Vinga is navigating life amid her parents’ split, and the island her grandfather lives on is the ideal escape from it all. Here, she can forget her parents’ problems and be with the only person who understands her: her grandfather. They drink homemade rhubarb lemonade and play chess under the lilac tree in his garden, far away from the city Vinga hates so much. On the island she can sit by her cliff near the lighthouse, work on her sailboat and be herself – that is, until Ruth arrives.

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Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes by Leon Diop & Briana Fitzsimons

Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes
Leon Diop & Briana Fitzsimons
Illustrated by Jessica Louis
Little Island Books in collaboration with Black & Irish, October 2023
Paperback, €14.50
ISBN 9781915071231

Black & Irish: Legends, Trailblazers & Everyday Heroes is a non-fiction book that shines a light on prominent Black Irish individuals from various fields such as entertainment, politics, sports, business, and the arts. This significant release in Irish history marks a joyful recognition of Black Irish heritage. The book delves deeply into the lives of 25 individuals of Black and mixed-race heritage from various regions of Ireland.

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On Silver Tides by Sylvia Bishop: Review

On Silver Tides
Sylvia Bishop
Andersen Press, February 2024
Paperback, £8.99
ISBN 9781839133589

On Silver Tides is the kind of novel that leaves you wanting more. It follows the journey of Kelda and the great lengths she goes to in order to protect her little sister, Isla. Kelda and her family are freshwater merpeople but little Isla is born different. The family protects Isla from the suspicions of the community but when they are betrayed the sisters escape. They join forces with a mysterious boy and embark on a journey that will change their lives forever.

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Great YA titles You Can’t Miss – #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks

Paper Lanterns is proud to be a part of the thriving Irish Young Adult Literature community and we are delighted to support the #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks campaign. There are brilliant YA books written by authors in Ireland and Northern Ireland. We encourage everyone to pick one up for their next read

We strongly believe it is important (and enjoyable!) to read books from a diversity of backgrounds, but equally we know how amazing it is to see yourself and your place in the books you read.

To make it easier to #DiscoverIrishKidsBooks, we’ve pulled together the Irish YA books our reviewers have read and enjoyed. What better way to discover new reads than going directly to teenagers and YA enthusiasts based all over the island of Ireland – find out what your next read should be in their words!

And of course, as well as reviews, Paper Lanterns is filled with poetry, stories, essays, art and interviews by teen contributors and older YA enthusiasts – you can pick up a copy in our shop here.

For more information on the campaign, visit http://discoveririshkidsbooks.ie

Table Of Contents
  1. Contemporary
  2. Historical Fiction
  3. Non-Fiction
  4. Fantasy
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Lying in The Deep by Diana Urban: Review

Lying in The Deep

Lying in The Deep
Diana Urban
Razorbill, May 2023
Hardback, £9.99
ISBN 9780593527603

Lying in The Deep is brutal, unrelenting, and easily my favourite book that I’ve read this year. It’s like Karen M. McManus with less swearing and narrators, but more of everything else. From the opening of the book, “I didn’t realize there’d be this much blood”, to the twist ending, I was hooked. Usually, I don’t finish a book in the span of a week, especially not when I have exams on, but I had to make an exception for this. 

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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