Sugar

Book 54 of 2015 is Sugar by Deirdre Riordan Hall.

When I started this book, I wasn't expecting too much from it. I was pleasantly surprised and cried at the appropriate moments when Sugar's journey mirrored mine.

My childhood was not as bad as hers because I had a good family but the self image and emotional bruises are very familiar.

4 sugary treats out of 5.

Should I read this? Fat people should read this book. It means a lot to me.
What did I learn? Fat people are people too.

Sloppy Firsts

Book 42 of 2015 is Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty.

This is the first book of the Jessica Darling series. It reminds me a lot of the pre-teen books I read in primary school. These are a little more grown up but the ideas are the same. Teenage girl is friends with the cool kids and a very good student. She falls for the bad boy and all that.

This is well written though and not as cookie cutter as it could have been.

I think I'd have enjoyed this more if I had grown up in the US as it is very American and I'm pretty sure I missed some of the sentimentality that was meant to be evoked.


3.5 cheerleaders of 5.

Should I read this? Only if you like teen drama.
What did I learn? This reminded me of how difficult it was to be an individual as a teenager. Your brain forces you to comply with your peer's needs. I'm sure there is an evolutionary advantage to that but I'm yet to work it out.

Red Queen

Book six of 2015 is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

Yes, yes, another teenage book. I didn't realise it when I chose it. It was on a list of most popular reads at the moment so I tried it based on the blurb.

This one is not original in any way but is a rehash of classic fantasy where a poor disadvantaged person finds they have a special power that catapults them in to power, intrigue and adventure. In this case it is a teenage girl, in style of Hunger Games and Divergent.

It could be because I've read so much fantasy and teenage post apocalyptic fiction that I'm unimpressed. Stick with Hunger Games and Divergent for teen fiction. If you want a very well written and more original series in this style with a strong female protagonist, read the Black Magician series by Australian Trudi Caravan.

One thing I did like about this book is that it is fantasy written by a woman so the female characters have depth and multiple dimensions, as opposed to the usual vacuous side characters that a lot of male fantasy writers create. That helped this book along. The inner dialogue wasn't too hard to believe.

It was very easy to read. I smashed through it in about 5.5 hours.

Three red bloods out of five.

Should I read this? Best for teenagers. This book does not span to the adult reader.
What did I learn? Someone has to create a new popular genre because the teenage post apocalyptic books are starting to get very weak.