Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

The mind of Gillian Flynn must be a darkly fascinating place, I’ve read all three novels now and I’d say Gone Girl was actually the least disturbing of the bunch. Sharp Objects is an incredible read, the kind that leaves you with a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, the kind of abject horror that you can’t not read, yet you aren't even sure if you want to.

Camille is a mediocre reporter for a mediocre newspaper, editor Curry thinks she has potential and even more than that, that his paper does, so he sends Camille back to her hometown to break the story about a potential serial killer targeting children before any other paper can.

Camille reluctantly returns and immediately, is drawn back into the insidiousness of her mother’s life. A well groomed and presented woman with a dark heart. She also gets the chance to know half sister Amme, a seriously disturbed 13 year old with the kind of promiscuity that makes you want to lock your children up forever and step-dad Alan, who is literally,  the creepiest man alive without even speaking.

Camille’s life is troubled. She is a borderline alcoholic who uses self-harm to escape, her method is to carve words into her skin. She is in recovery but that’s not without its urges. She isn't just a mediocre journalist but a reluctant one and her attempts to report on the murder of two young girls (who had their teeth removed post mortem) are lackluster. She doesn't have the passion or the drive for the job and she knows it.

Her mother Adora is the evilest woman ever. I won’t ruin the story, but her behavior is on the line on being incestuous, she’s very disturbed and incredibly cruel. Amma is more outrageous than most 18 year olds and she is supposed to be just thirteen. You want to punch Alan in the face. Local police chief Vickerery is an idiot and Kansas detective Richard is annoyingly ambiguous.

If you think reading about the murder of two little girls would be the worst part of the novel you’ll be horrified to discover there are many, many occasions where other things happen that come pretty close. When the killer is finally revealed it doesn't even bring the usual satisfaction at finally having some justice, if just leaves you with an uncomfortable feeling that lingers long after the last page.

4/5. Gillian Flynn is easily cementing herself as a major player for the crime/genre.

Chocolate Cake with Hitler - Emma Craigie

SOME SPOILERS! 

(Although its based on fact so...)

Much like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas which came four years before Chocolate Cake with Hitler reading about the horrors of the Nazi regime through the innocence of a child's prose brings new levels of darkness to the history. Though the book is fiction it is based closely on fact, Helga Goebbels was murdered, presumably by her Mother, in Hitlers underground bunker in Berlin, after arriving there just 10 days earlier. Their final days were spent hearing echos of the bombs on the streets above, spending time with "Uncle" Hitler and "Auntie" Eva and their dogs. As well as their own Mother and Father. The facts indicate that when the bodies of the children were recovered, Helga Goebbels bore bruises on her face, a sign that she knew what was happening to her and tried to fight before being forcibly fed cyanide. This is where i believe, Emma Craigie seems to take Helga's suspicious  narrative from, Helga explains her life from Hitlers rise to power until she is sent to the bunker with her family in flashbacks. The holocaust is referred to briefly, mentions of her being forced to watch anti-Jewish propaganda and remarks from those around her. Mainly Helga's narrative guides you through her final ten days in the bunker, how afraid she was and even more afraid to openly display her fears, her disgust at "Uncle Adi" and her awe of "Auntie Eva". Her only joy having come from Hitlers dog Blondis puppies and playing with her younger siblings, the lack of time she spent with her parents, overhearing the noise of the Hitlers wedding and eventual death and not understanding fully what was happening. Helga's narrative is confused, but with a undertone of understanding, from page one until the end Helga knows deep down, the war isn't going to end in favor of Germany. 

The novel is, like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, a difficult read, understanding the Nazi regime and the consequences that fell upon the innocent children forced to be involved is dark and troubling. But of course, it should be.

If Helga Goebbels could have written a memoir of her final days i do believe it would have read a lot like this, the confusion, the fear, the charade from the adults that surrounded her, all seem to be a direct line into the past. The one thing i kept in mind whilst reading the novel was that, the youngest child who was kept in that bunker and murdered there was Helga's sister Heidi, she was four years old.

Its a five star book, i would absolutely recommend it, it falls just short of 200 pages, its a "quick" read but not an easy one. I am definitely going to pick up Emma Craigies next release. 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Leuithan

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!

So i literally just finished this book and i'm wordless, i have no idea how to review it. Was it a story? I mean really very little happens, there is a fabulous musical, some concerts, some teenage angst and some hilariously funny moments but there's no big oh my god moments. Its like spending a few hours talking to your overly camp and very depressed friends.

The two Wills are polar opposites, whilst Will 1, non gay Will is fairly ordinary and boring to read, Will 2 is interesting, clearly broken, intriguing to read. Tiny Cooper is like Elton John on Red Bull and MDMA, there's a lot of life in him, he lights the whole novel. Jane is mildly interesting, a fairly good match for Will 1. 

The narration flips between the two Wills but for Will 1's chapters Tiny is casting the bigger shadow (literally) you can clearly tell its John Green writing Will 1, its akin to The Fault in our Stars, minus the awful tragedy, obviously, whereas David Leuithan is a new writer for me so his prose, was refreshing, dark and funny at the same time. 

The story is definitely strange, like i said there isn't much that really happens when you think about it but whilst your reading it and its happening you kind of get dragged along the roller-coaster with them all.

My biggest praise for this one is the end, it was genuinely lovely, Tiny though exerting over the top confidence in himself throughout was clearly struggling with self esteem issues so to see him be accepted at the end, in the most amazing way, was brilliant. 

Its a three star for me! I liked it, i didn't love it but i loved parts of it. 

House Rules - Jodi Picoult

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!

Another Jodi Picoult read! I admit though, i'm a big fan. This novel is one of her longer ones along with Nineteen Minutes and The Pact, it comes from five different perspectives, Mom Emma is tired, over wrought yet dedicated looking after her son Jacob, who has high functioning autism and Aspergers, Jacob lives his life with a very strict routine, he doesn't understand emotion, he hates the color orange, he is fascinated with forensic science and he has an incredibly dry sense of humor. Brother Theo feels neglected, hes holding in years and years of angst, frequently jealous of his brother, sometimes wishing he was an only child. Detective Rich is juggling his family and his job, he feels connected and responsible for Jacob but often that clashes with his responsibilities. Lawyer Oliver is barely out of school and has never tried a big case.

When Jacobs social skills tutor Jess goes missing it becomes clear that both Jacob and Theo have something to hide, when Jacob is arrested Emma and Oliver are forced to try make a court understand how Jacobs condition affects his ability to live the way the rest of us do, Jacob is bound by rules, order and routine, Emma and Oliver try desperately to get a jury to understand that his lack of emotion is not the hallmark of a sadistic killer, but of a boy who doesn't understand emotion, grief or loss. 

The book had me gripped, Emma's chapters are tiring, you can see the weight she carries everyday worrying about each son in turn but knowing Jacob will always end up coming first, she is clearly torn on whether or not she believes her son could do what hes accused of. Theo is shady from page 1, hes lonely and its clear hes had a difficult life but the way he expresses that frustration is immediately a warning signal, i was convinced, from the start that Theo was the killer (i won't reveal if i was right!). Jacobs chapters are fascinating, his understanding of the world is on a completely different level to the other narrators and therefore he is the most interesting character throughout, his sense of humor is wickedly funny at times too. Oliver was a little blah for me, he jumped between good guy and total asshat, Rich was the same, you could understand his feeling of responsibility but he fully stitched Jacob up without caring about his conditions even though he already knew about them, it seemed like the kind of error that would result in some serious questions in court. The Judge frustrated me too with his complete lack of understanding and it seriously left me questioning whether in reality Jacob would have ended up in the dock.  

My one annoyance with the novel is the ending, there is no real feeling of satisfaction for the reader, the mystery of Jess Oglivys murder is unraveled but we don't get to see a conclusion in court. Aside from that however its definitely another winner from Picoult, she always has me completely involved in her stories, nervous for the charecters and desperate to see what happens. This is easily one of her best novels, falling just behind Nineteen Minutes and The Pact! Four stars!

Perfect Match - Jodi Picoult

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!!

Perfect Match is quite a novel, even for the epic Jodi Picoult. Nina Frost is a prosecutor, shes dealt with hundreds of child abuse cases and she knows that its difficult to get any justice for the children involved. When she discovers her own son has been abused she takes matters into her own hands and shoots dead the man she believes to be guilty, in a courtroom full of witnesses.

Its as brilliant a novel as one about child abuse can be, Nina is acceptive of her faults as a mother but when she is focused on her son, her devotion is unquestionable. Her husband Caleb is a bit of a wash, until the last few very obvious pages, he is a limp character and his lack of real emotion is a low point. Luckily the strength of Nina's character and that of her best friend, Patrick Ducharme, carry the novel well, especially when paired with the painful and difficult sections from her son, Nathaniel's point of view. 

Its difficult to describe and its by no means an easy read, any novel involving child abuse is going to be a tough read and this is no exception, Nathaniel's innocence and reaction to the horrors that happen to him are heartbreaking and tough to get through. 

I gave it a four stars, its not a pleasant read, but as much as it can be considering the content, its a good one. 

Broadchurch - Erin Kelly & Chris Chibnall

This book is a difficult one to review, the novel was written after the series aired so i already knew the plot, characters and murderer. However it is a word perfection adaption of the popular TV series. When eleven year old Danny Latimers body is discovered on Broadchurch beach the small community implodes on itself as DS Miller and DS Hardy attempt to discover the killer. Literally everyone, except Danny's mum, sister and grandmother become suspects. 

Erin Kelly has done a brilliant job of adapting the screenplay into a novel, the plus of having it transformed into writing means you get a better feel of the characters emotions, particularly those of Danny's mum Beth, who is doubly heartbreaking on page as she was on screen.  The characters work well on a page, whether its because i had already seen it and therefore had a mental image in mind of them all or purely because it is so well written but it was incredibly easy to strike up a mental image of them all and even the setting. 

There are odd scenes added in that were not televised, its easy to pick up on them and whilst they don't add anymore depth to the story they are interesting for fans.

Its a three star, its not outstanding literature but its a solid adaption of a brilliant series.

Reconstructing Amelia - Kimberly McCreight

SOME SPOILERS BELOW!!

Reconstructing Amelia caught my attention because the reviews on the front of the book claimed it to be as good as Gone Girl and deserving of as much praise. Unfortunately, the review was way off.

Amelia Baron is a quiet, well behaved, studious 15 year old girl who is accused of plagurising an English paper and proceeds to throw herself off the school roof. The death is ruled a suicide but months later her Mum, lawyer Kate, receives a text  with a single line. "Amelia didn't jump".

What follows is basically Gossip Girl crossed with a dodgy channel five murder/cop show. 

Amelia turns out to have had quite the life in her final months, involvement in secret clubs, on the receiving end of homophobic bullying, posing for risque photos and spending hours talking to a young boy she never even met.  Amelia's mother unravels slowly whilst trying to discover what really happened to her daughter and exposes some serious flaws within the story.

Firstly the case is reopened and investigated by a single officer, just one. Mum Kate never meets any other officer once the case is reopened, its seriously implausible and i spent half the time wondering if he was even an actual officer. He also allows Kate to tail him in interviews, permitting her to ask questions, sift through evidence herself without any supervision, basically doing the work he should be doing with a team. Completely beyond the realms of a normal investigation.

The girls in Amelia's school are just a little too bitchy, even by Gossip Girl standards, the extent of their vicious bullying would be a crime and the school, we are expected to believe, remained in denial about the entire situation for their own protection.

A teacher is exposed as having written a Gossip Girl-esque blog exposing student secrets and nothing appears to happen to her, everyone and anyone knows how to disguise their numbers, emails and i.p addresses. It's like CSI for bitchy rich school kids. 

When the killer/not killer is exposed the mother just accepts their story about it being an accident and moves on, without any other questions. 

It had potential to be brilliant but it just didn't get there, the story and characters were too exaggerated, Amelia was stretched so far out of her original personality her actions made no sense, her mother was irritating, the police officer unprofessional and the blog, Facebook and text excerpts could have been siphoned straight from Gossip Girl or Pretty Little Liars. It is a teen fiction novel, with elements of the previously mentioned books masquerading as adult crime fiction, it definitely is not on parr with Gillian Flynns Gone Girl. 

Two stars. I didn't love this one!