Showing posts with label Realistic/Contemporary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Realistic/Contemporary. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Review: Good Oil by Laura Buzo
Release Date: August, 2010 Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Genre: Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 300
Challenge: Aussie YA Reading Challenge
Source: Bought
Blurb (from allenandunwin.com)
'Miss Amelia Hayes, welcome to The Land of Dreams
From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost...head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming man-about-Woolies, but he's 21, and the six-year difference in their ages may as well be 100.
Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes?
The Quickie Review
Laura Buzo has woven a beautiful story of first love and growing up all set around the aptly named Land of Dreams (Chris’ name for Woolworths or Woolies as it’s so fondly named by the Aussie public, which is a large supermarket chain in Australia
Good Oil engross you from page one with two utterly complex yet relatable characters, the shy, smart Amelia and the boisterous, fun loving Chris, both of who I adored. It’s cute, it’s bittersweet and it’s 'a little bit heartbreaking' but it’s also beautifully honest and well worth reading. Laura Buzo has made a definite impact on me and, fingers crossed, the Aussie YA literary world as well, I hope she has many more books to come.
The Full Blown Review
15 year old Amelia works at Woolworths or as her favourite fellow worker Chris calls it ‘The Land of Dreams’ and it is indeed ‘The Land of Dreams’ for Amelia who soon develops her first all consuming crush on her 21 year old co-worker which quickly and unexpectedly turns into her first love (her realization or ‘ah-ha’ moment that she’s in love with Chris happens sitting on the couch watching TV with her little sister). Unfortunately for Amelia Chris, at first, doesn’t even remotely think of Amelia that way. Both Amelia and Chris see something in each other and their friendship develops over the course of the novel, however will Chris ever be able to overcome the 6 year age gap between them to see Amelia as she wants to be seen in his eyes?
Good Oil is told in dual narratives between 15 year old Amelia and 21 year old Chris through his diary entries, I loved how we got both of their perspectives about their relationship and also what each one was feeling and how they interpreted each other at the time. I guess what amazed me with this book was that the Amelia and Chris were so well developed and real that I could relate to both of them, which often isn’t the case in many novels, I mean one sure but both, not usually.
I loved Amelia she had this childish innocence to her that we all used to have, some more than others. Reading through Amelia’s narrative gave me flash backs to my teen years, trying to navigate through the murky waters of high school whilst also trying to understand where you fit into the overall picture world. Heck I was Amelia, I was frustrated with my parents on many an occasion, just like Amelia I hated my mothers smoking with a passion always making a point that it annoyed the crap out of me and yet she still continued with it, I was dealing with pushy and loud school boys going to and from school (only I got this privilege not only on a bus but a tram and train as well), I went to a girls school that had defined social hierarchies and it’s safe to say I was not in the ‘popular’ group, the only teenage boy contact I had was with my brother who it must be said barely tolerated me, one of my best friends abruptly (like literally overnight) went gaga for boys and suddenly I was in this place feeling alone and left out of it all, ah yes the teen years, lot of angst, I remember it well.
I also understood where Chris was coming from, he’s in his last year of an arts degree and what the heck is he going to do? I could totally understood his reasons for doing an honours year because that was me 2 years ago, I mean for me finishing uni and finding a job was just too unthinkable, especially because I did a degree with not too many great job prospects so what did I go and do? A masters degree, problem solved, but this didn’t really solve anything as I finish this year and once again I’m at the crossroads Chris was at, what am I going to do when I finish? Which BTW, just like Chris, annoys the crap out of me when people ask me that question, I don’t know what I’m going to do but it will come to me eventually people! Sorry about that little rant anyway where was I oh yes Chris. What I also really love was how whilst he at first appears to the reader as this really chipper, happy go lucky guy from Amelia’s observations we learn from Chris' perspective that he feels like he’s alone, just like Amelia, and his life is a mess. It appears to Chris that everyone seems to be moving on with their lives post uni whilst he’s stuck in the same place doing the same things watching everyone passing him bye. He’s also trying to deal with his growing feelings for ‘the youngster’ which he sees as inappropriate because of their age gap even though Chris can really talk to Amelia and she makes him really think and question his previous notions of whatever subject they’re talking about. Chris also made some mistakes that annoyed me no end, there was one particular incident, why Chris, why I was asking myself but that’s what people do, they make mistakes and that’s what makes a character real. So I guess what I loved about Chris was how Laura so clearly conveyed his feelings of despair and hopelessness he had for his life, it was so well written that I really understood where he was coming from because I’ve been there and what do you know I seem to be back there again, eek!
It is also evident Laura knows her literature with sprinklings of references from The Great Gatsby to Great Expectations and The Catcher in the Rye Temple of Doom
I knew throughout the book that logically there was only one possible ending and whilst both Amelia and Chris did connect intellectually the age gap between the two was simply too big, Amelia still has a lot of growing up to do and more to experience of the world, Chris on the other hand also has a lot of growing up to do but his is different from Amelia’s because they are in completely different stages in their lives. I’ve read the word bittersweet to describe the ending and I’m of the same opinion, it is bittersweet but there is the eternal flame of hope left for the two which for me is hopefully *crosses fingers and toes* a follow up to this book, I would sell my soul for a sequel, dramatic much, me?
To be quite frank I have fallen head over heels for this book, just like Amelia did for Chris!
Rating
5 out of 5
There’s Another Book?!?
So I’m not sure if there is going to be a sequel to Good Oil (one can only hope there will be, oh please, please) but there is good news as Laura is signed to Allen & Unwin to write two young adult novels, so there is definitely another YA novel in Laura’s future! [Source]
Goodies
About the Author
Laura Buzo was born and grew up in Sydney Sydney Sydney
Buy the Book
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Review: Fall for Anything by Courtney Summers
Release Date: December 21, 2010 Publisher: St.Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Realistic/Contemporary Fiction
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 230
Challenge: The Contemps Challenge
Source: Bought
Blurb (from courtneysummers.ca)
When Eddie Reeves’s father commits suicide her life is consumed by the nagging question of why? Why when he was a legendary photographer and a brilliant teacher? Why when he seemed to find inspiration in everything he saw? And, most important, why when he had a daughter who loved him more than anyone else in the world? When she meets Culler Evans, a former student of her father’s and a photographer himself, an instant and dangerous attraction begins. Culler seems to know more about her father than she does and could possibly hold the key to the mystery surrounding his death. But Eddie’s vulnerability has weakened her and Culler Evans is getting too close. Her need for the truth keeps her hanging on… but are some questions better left unanswered?
The Quickie Review
Eddie’s father has committed suicide and the grief of it is consuming her, swallowing her whole, she cannot continue with her life until she discovers an answer to a question she may never find, the question being why? Why did he commit suicide when he had a seemingly perfect life? Was it because of Eddie or her mother, did they disappoint him in some way? Was it because he lost the passion he had for his work? Now Eddie’s whole life is all about finding an answer to this question even if it means distancing herself from her best friend and mother in order to join a man, Culler Evans, she barely knows who is helping her find the answers she so desperately wants, but can Eddie really trust Culler, is he genuine or does he have ulterior motives? Fall for Anything is an amazingly powerful novel which describes in such raw and honest language how the suicide of a love one can affect a family.
You simply cannot read Fall for Anything and forget about it, it stays with you well after finishing it, it’s a novel which gets under your skin and makes you think and really question things. Whilst these novels are not for everyone, as the subject matter is quite depressing, for me these are the best kind of novels. If this sounds like something you’d like you definitely should read this novel it’s, to put it simply, amazing, I just adored it.
The Full Blown Review
Eddie Reeves life has basically stopped, her whole life is consumed by finding out why her seemingly happy and loving father, Seth Reeves, committed suicide. But finding out why he committed suicide is not an easy task after all how do you get answers from a dead man? But trying to figure out why her father committed suicide brings up things Eddie never thought she would have questioned like whether or not she really knew her father at all? Who exactly was he to do this and how could he do this to Eddie and her mum if he really loved them. To Eddie it’s like her father had this whole other life he kept separate from Eddie and her mother. Whilst Eddie is going through this emotional turmoil Culler Evans, Seth Reeves’s student, enters Eddie’s world. Suddenly Eddie is not alone in her grief someone else appears to be just as concerned as Eddie is at trying to discover why he committed suicide. He also appears to know more about Seth Reeves’s other life which Eddie has no idea about. Now with Culler in the picture it’s more important than ever for Eddie to find out why he committed suicide even if it means distancing herself from her best friend Milo and her mother, who seems to be just a shell of the person she used to be before her husbands death. Whilst each step taken with Culler seems to bring Eddie closer to the answer she so desperately wants, is she really ready for the answer?
I don’t know where to really begin this review as I don’t believe I can give this book the justice it deserves, I was simply blow away by how emotional and confronting this book was for me. Part of the reason I was so emotional over it was probably because the day I started this book I went to a funeral for an old friend from primary school whose father passed away unexpectedly and I saw with my own eyes how it affected everyone, there are no words to describe how sad it was. So before I even started the book I was already thinking about death especially when it comes unexpectedly as is the case for both the book and my old friends father.
When describing grief and loss, words seem so inadequate, how do you put someone’s grief into words? It is so difficult and subjective, yet Summers’ does it brilliantly. It is because of this I adore Summers’ writing style there is something so raw and honest about it, Eddie’s grief was so palpable throughout the entire novel and the way it was written I could understand and feel her grief, it made me want to cry for her and give her a big hug whilst telling her it’s going to be ok.
Death especially suicide as well as how people deal with their grief is still often treated as a taboo subject and is not often discussed, but when it is it must be handled with care and Summers’ achieves this. She never sensationalizes the suicide or the grief the characters are going through. It is a realistic novel with each character showing grief that individuals would actually show with Eddie fixated to the point of obsession on trying to figure out the why of her father’s suicide, Eddie’s mother’s complete breakdown with the loss of her husband and Milo ’s refusal to discuss what exactly happened that night.
Eddie was such an emotionally damaged character, it was so depressing reading from her point of view. The only way Eddie found she could deal with her grief over her fathers loss was to find out why he did what he did which became an obsession. To me Eddie seemed like she was shell, she was going through the motions of everyday life but nothing was getting through, all she cared about or thought about was her fathers suicide and discovering why. Her father’s suicide encroached on every facet of her life even her friendship with her best friend Milo who found Eddie the night of her fathers suicide but won’t tell her what happened on that night which frustrates Eddie no end, she cannot understand why he won’t tell her what happened. In order to help her come to terms with his suicide Eddie separated the two facets of her father’s life into 1) the loving and kind father Eddie knew and loved with all her heart who would never kill himself and 2) the famous photographer and the person she knew nothing about. It is this person that Eddie wants to discover more about in order to find out why he committed suicide because she simply cannot comprehend her father committing suicide due to his life with Eddie and her mother whereas there must be something in his other life that left him suicidal. However, soon Eddie starts to question this line of thought, perhaps it was his home life, and more specifically Eddie, that caused his suicide.
Now we get to Culler Evans, Seth Reeves’s student, he was an interesting character and after finishing the book I definitely have strong feelings about him however I am not going to say which way those feelings lean (I either really love him or really despise him) as I don’t want to give away the plot of the novel, you’ll just have to read the book in order to find out what I feel about him as I’m sure you’ll feel the same way as I do. My feelings aside I did have an issue with Culler (which continued throughout most of the book), I was never really sure Eddie could trust him even when he appeared to be helping her I was still suspicious of his motives, I mean yes he wants to find out why Seth Reeves committed suicide just like Eddie but still what’s a 21 year old man hanging around a 17 year old high school student for, it’s a bit creepy.
Milo (l absolutely love the name) was another interesting character who had real depth to him and FYI he’s pretty swoon worthy and oh heck I’m going to say it I wanted Eddie to end up with Milo . Both Eddie and Milo were so close before the suicide but now things are strained partly due to Milo ’s refusal to tell Eddie what happened on the night of her father’s suicide. Throughout the novel Eddie was always asking Milo to tell her what happened on that night but Milo kept on refusing to talk about it which frustrated Eddie and I have to say me as well, by the end of the book I was so desperate to find out why he wouldn’t tell Eddie what happened. Finally when he does tell Eddie the answer it is so emotional and shows how much he loves and cares for Eddie whilst also indicating that Eddie and her mother were not the only people emotionally affected by the events of that night, Milo was as well, he just had a different way of coping with his grief.
In the end Eddie doesn’t get the answer she’s searching for but I don’t think anybody that’s left behind when someone they love dearly commits suicide can ever understand the why of it because those committing suicide are in a totally different frame of mind which is incomprehensible to everyone but them. All you can really do is acknowledge that it happened and hope they have finally found the peace they failed to find in their life. Whilst the reasons for suicide are often uncertain what is certain, which is conveyed perfectly in this novel, is that suicide tears families apart.
Whilst the subject matter is not easy (I found it quite confronting at times) Fall for Anything is such a beautiful novel about grief and how suicide leaves such a lasting effect. I feel like there is so much more I could say about this book but I’m going to leave it there, if you want more you’ll just have to read this book, trust me you’ll love it.
Rating
5 out of 5
Goodies
* Fall for Anything Trailer
* Watch James from Book Chic Club read the sixth chapter as part of his Fragment Friday meme
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