Tag Archives: YA

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Railhead by Philip Reeve Review

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Title: Railhead

Author: Philip Reeve

Rating: 5/5 stars

Page Count: 312 pages

Genre: SCI-FI, Middle Grade/ YA, Adventure, Fantasy

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23532981-railhead?ac=1&from_search=true

Synopsis:

Zen Starling is a kid who lives in the future and is not understood by anyone at least that’s what he thinks. But when he gets in trouble and he meets Raven. Who will give him a way out that will change his life forever. Will he take that chance and ride the royal train to find the ultimate piece of the puzzle to the universe?

If you are looking for a SPOILER-FREE REVIEW check out my review on my Youtube channel.

 

Style of Writing:

I really liked that it was in third person instead of first because with Railhead the world is so much of the story and a character in itself that it worked to its advantage. I loved that all the parts of the world whether it is the trains or the Guardians they were explained just enough to grasp the concept but also to let your imagination completely run wild with possibilities of what it looked like in your head.

Themes:

I love the theme of trains when I was a kid my parents used to take me on those steam train rides so awesome! So this is the book I have wanted since I was a kid and now I have it! It is traintastic! I loved the SCI-FI future theme in this book because it was not fantastical but quite realistic in terms of the fact that this could be a possible future. The theme of friendship was beautifully written especially between Zen and Nova.

Characters:

Zen Starling was a great character. He was just a lost kid at the start then he develops throughout the story into this strong character. Nova I absolutely loved as a character because she was so loyal to Zen and quite human in her personality. Raven I didn’t like as a person but as a villain he was really good. Threnody for me was too annoying in the beginning but I grew to like her at the end of the book. The trains were epic; Damask Rose and Thought Fox such fantastic characters with their own bolshie personalities. Also I loved Uncle Bugs.

Plot:

The plot was fantastic so thrilling and exciting loved every minute of it. I was always waiting and wondering what was round the corner on the next page in the adventure. I really like that you didn’t always know if Zen and Nova were going to make it which kept the suspense going throughout. The ending was great because it felt like you ended a chapter but there was so much more to explore so you didn’t feel like there was nothing to look forward to.

 

My Thoughts:

I can’t do this book justice in a few words its just absolutely amazingly and fantastically traintastic! It is just fun and thrilling story filled with great story of friendship and finding yourself and your place in your world. Great for children’s fiction, SCI-FI and train lovers.

 

Comment below if you have read Railhead or interested in reading it or to let me know what you thought of the review!

 

KEEP GEEKING!

 

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See How They Lie by Sue Wallman – Review

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from Goodreads

Title: See How They Lie

Author: Sue Wallman

Rating: 5/5 stars

Page Count: 320 pages

Genre: YA, Thriller

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34382011-see-how-they-lie

Synopsis:

It is about a girl called Mae Ballard who lives in Hummingbird Creek which her father set up. Hummingbird Creek is a wellness resort for teenagers. As Mae is getting older she is starting to question her life and Hummingbird Creek things start to spiral out of control. So will she lead a normal life?

If you are looking for a spoiler-free review her is one I did on my YouTube channel:

Spoiler Free Review

SPOILERS COMING

Favourite Quote:

My favourite quote from this book is right at the end of the book where they are rallying against Hummingbird Creek on page 305:

‘Will’s words come back to me. Maybe you don’t understand how tightly some of us bond here.‘

I loved this quote cause is inspirational and I am sucker for inspirational quotes plus its such an emotional part in the book.

Style of Writing:

I loved her style of writing it was simple but very effective when it came to the suspenseful parts especially at the end of the book the climax had you on the edge of your seat. The thriller aspect of the book is still very much there which sometimes you tend to loose it when its in the YA genre. I really like the way it was written as if Mae is writing the story but she is detached from the story until the end, it gave the book a mysterious quality to it.

Themes:

The theme of mental health within children and to an extent adults was done with respect and in an educating way. In terms of violence within YA Thrillers I think is the most challenging thing to do and done perfectly here, just the right amount of violence. The themes of friendship were interesting as everyone had a completely different relationship to Mae. My favourite was between Noah and Mae also Thet and Mae because they were liberating friendships for Mae.

Characters:

Mae was my favourite character as she was a character that constantly questioned her life and society not only that but she had this spirit that I just loved about her such a great character. In terms od boys I didn’t like Drew he just so annoyed me the way he acted I found him quite selfish. But Noah I loved him; he was so kind and understanding you just felt like saying ‘you go Noah!’ Thet was interesting loveable character who reminded me of one of my friends. Mrs Hays was so sweet and reminded me of my drama teacher, which is another thing I loved about the book that all the characters were really relatable. The characters I didn’t like were obviously Hunter who I just wanted to scream at for being so not understanding towards people (he made my blood boil). The mother Louelle I didn’t like but could understand her situation but overall she was such a frustrating character to read I just wanted to say wake up!!

My Thoughts:

Overall, I really enjoyed this book fantastic thrilling plot that kept me on the edge of my seat right to the end. A great mix of characters that fill you with emotions. Half way through I thought I’d really like a sequel because I loved the characters so much. However, the ending was so satisfying that I decided against the sequel thought which is rare. A thrilling YA that will take through a curious journey.

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Kindle Unlimited

So recently Amazon have released Kindle Unlimited which is a Netflix/ Now TV like library service. But is it worth it?

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It was released in the US first and is gradual coming out in certain countries and has recently come to the UK. So the idea is you get access to over 1 million titles and 2,000 audiobooks for £7.99 a month there is also a 30 day free trial available. Like a library you can only read 10 books at a time.

There is a lot to choose from and allows you to discover new authors out there. It also had good selection in my opinion of YA and fantasy. Some of the big names on there include the whole Harry Potter series and the complete Hunger Games series as well. It also had some big names in crime for instance M.RC Kasasian, P.D. James, Jane Holland and Ed James.

However, there are some issues with the service not directly but an issue with publishers and authors over royalities. I don’t know the specifics of the issue but I do know there is an a dispute between Amazon and Hachette and some authors have sent complaints in.

Overall, I really like the idea of the service and at the moment I am reading Smoke Rising by Craig Halloran and throughly enjoying it. I am concerned about the royalities issue as I believe authors should get a fair royalty from services like these which are becoming very popular nowadays. I am not sure if I will continue with this service but I would like to as it is good idea for a service as long as they sort the royalities issues out NOW!

Let me know if you have signed up and what you think of the service or know more about the royalities issue!