Beautiful Malice - Rebecca James

Before Beautiful Malice had even been released I had heard and read quite a lot about it and the woman who wrote it, Rebecca James. The media was hot on the story about how much James had been paid for this book and the "frenzy" it had started in the international publishing world with everyone seeming to want a piece of it. Of course this sort of publicity always makes me a little wary - but I have to admit it also sucks me in (I have always said I am a marketer's dream!).

Beautiful Malice has been promoted as a psychological thriller in the young adult reading area.

The main character, Katherine Patterson is a 17 year old in her final year of high school in Sydney - we find out early on in the book that she moved to Sydney a couple of years ago following a traumatic event, the death of her younger sister, that obviously impacted hugely on her whole family. Katherine is living with her aunt as her parents have re-located to nearby Newcastle but Katherine lives a fairly independent existence. This was an aspect of the structure of the book that never really rang true for me - this is a 17 year old whose sibling has died and yet her parents seem quite ok with her living away from them at a fairly important time of her life - the author did make some attempts at explaining this separation but they felt a little forced for me and even though it could be seen as a minor practical detail in the story it did affect how I viewed the characters and the authenticity of the story.

Katherine makes friends with another student, Alice, who begins to help her see the lighter side of life and connects her to a social world for the first time since the death of her sister. That is until cracks start to appear in Alice's character and Katherine comes to realise she can't really trust her.

The story presented is in some ways a coming of age story for Katherine who has to face the demons of the reality of her sister's death and the part she believes she played in it before she can begin to develop her own life as independent from this strong part of it.

I felt the author did a good job in building suspense and tension in the story and I read quickly - wanting to know more and more. There is a lot of devastation and tragedy included for one book - and for one character - at times it felt like Katherine (and the reader!) might not be able to take any more!

I did enjoy this book but for all it's dark content matter and issues handled I didn't find it completely satisfying if that makes sense?? I am wondering if a younger reader would have gained more from the experience?

If I Stay - Gayle Forman

I first read about If I Stay over at DoveGreyReader and then over at Dot's Blog - both reviews had me eager to read this book so I ordered a copy from Amazon only to find it days later in bookshops in Australia! Oh well - my copy is hardcover and gorgeous so I have come to terms with it!

This is one of those books where it is hard to describe the plot, structure and techniques of the book without giving away the core message that you need to discover in your own time as you read it yourself so I will just give you the description as outlined on the author's website:

“Just listen,” Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen.
“Stay,” he says.
Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones. Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her friends and family behind?
Then, one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it’s the only that matters.
If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

I found this book incredibly moving and powerful - and it actually does take quite a bit to move me! The writing is spot on and while the book is intended as a young adult book I don't think it would be out of place on the adult fiction shelves.

Highly recommended!

Prada and Prejudice - Mandy Hubbard

I have to admit I was a little hesitant about picking up Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard after my last Jane Austen spin off reading experience but I have to say that this was a very different experience - and one that I actually enjoyed!

Prada and Prejudice was my second read for the Everything Austen Challenge and after my disappointing first read I was intending to go back to the real thing for my second book to restore my faith but when this book arrived in the mail yesterday I thought I would give it a go.

The main character in the book is 15 year old Callie - an American girl on a school trip to London. When the book starts Callie is not having the best of times and she takes us through a little bit of her history as the "not so cool girl in school" - a time I am sure many of us can remember. Callie decides to do her best to fit in with the "in" crowd - which of course means using her mother's credit card to buy a brand new and authentic pair of Prada heels. Callie, being Callie, is not used to walking in such high heels and she ends up doing a nose dive into the London pavement causing her to black out and wake up in the English countryside - in the year 1815. Now, I'm not usually one who is able to get on board with the whole time travel thing but I was able to do it for Lost in Austen and I was able to do it for this book too - it's just a matter of suspending belief for that little while and getting caught up in the story.

The two things that I felt really made this book work were 1) Hubbard's strong and clear writing style and 2) The character of Callie - you believed this girl and you wanted her to come out on top.

This is clearly a book meant for adolescents but the adolescent in me really enjoyed it - a great light and fun read.

The Luxe - Anna Godbersen

Keeping in the spirit of my light and easy reading of late I picked up my copy of The Luxe which I have had on my shelf for a while now. I do enjoy reading young adult fiction and the gorgeous cover of this one had me interested right away. I must admit I didn't really have very high hopes for this book - I just thought it would be a nice gossipy, easy read for a cold, dismal weekend. It was a nice gossipy read but I also thought it was quite a good book overall (I've already picked up the second book in the series so it must have hooked me in).

The Luxe is set in New York in 1899 and starts with the funeral of high society girl, Elizabeth Holland who has died suddenly and mysteriously just days before her wedding to fellow high society member - Henry Schoonmaker. The rest of the novel takes us through the days leading up to this event - filling us in on other members of New York society and their secrets and relationships. I found the writing tight and well structured - even though the focus is on the relationships and crushes of 18 year olds I didn't think the writing became overly soppy (something that would have made me stop reading right away!). The writing and dialogue is by no means appropriate to the era in which the book is set but the author talks about her intentions behind steering away from this style in a special section at the end of the book.

Some reviews have talked about this book as being a cross between Jane Austen and Gossip Girl - it is definitely more Gossip Girl than Austen for me but I still really enjoyed this book - much more than I thought I would.