Scookie Reviews

NOUGHTS AND CROSSES by Malorie Blackman 3 stars Verdict: An important story but no-frills writing. I’ve wanted to read this book since I was a child. Now fully grown and still enjoy YA fiction of all kinds, I couldn’t ignore how this has been recommended to me throughout the years. That’s why I don’t like that I didn’t enjoy it. Despite seeing its value as a teaching device, the truth is I found it taxing to reach the end. Plot and themes aside, the author’s writing style isn’t one I particularly enjoy. The writing sticks mostly to dialogue so there’s almost no description, no visuals, no imagery or flare. There’s a slow grind to the fifty percent mark where the actual plot hits, and beforehand, the only real world-building is swapping around the words ‘white’ and ‘black’: a powerful idea in it's simplicity, but there's not really enough going on for half the book. Then years fly by in paragraphs, a writing choice that leaks the tension for me. Truth be told,...

GIRLS OF STORM AND SHADOW by Natasha Ngan Girls of Paper and Fire #2 3 Stars Verdict : Middle book syndrome. Travelling? Check. Cliche twins? Check. Shaky love triangle? Check. I'm afraid this book is suffering from middle book syndrome. Book two picks up where we left off, tense and fast with plenty to question: is Lei being followed, is the king alive, can Ketai Hanno be trusted? With luscious writing and a fiery romance, it promises a grand adventure full of political intrigue, battles, and romance. But then it sort of withers away. We see Lei become reckless and riled up at silly times, and quite frankly putting her spur of the moment needs in front of her friends' safety. But when she's not riled up, she's travelling or eating or having one too many drinks. This all equates to not a lot of progress for your pages. A band of new characters are introduced, including twins. Hopefully this isn't considered a spoiler as not all of these things hap...

ACE OF SHADES by Amanda Foody 4 Stars Verdict:  A mixed hand. Prim and proper dancer, Enne Salta, braves the so-called City of Sin in search of her mother. She seeks out Levi Glaisyer, a young gang leader struggling to pull off the last leg in a financial scam. Gangster magic ensues! I had mixed feeling about this story from start to finish, but did I enjoy it? Yes. Mostly. I felt critical while reading it, but I still enjoyed the ride. It starts off fast, almost too fast, so that it has to slow down immediately after in order to build up the world and characters. The pace might plummet, but the world and characters are very well done. I enjoyed Enne's growth from a stuffy prim and proper lady into a survivor, and I liked how she he clashed with Levi's laid back persona - textbook chemistry! Levi, on the other hand, is in over his head, and things only gets worse for him. I've heard lots of comparisons to Six of Crow' s Kaz Brekker, and I'd say Levi isn...

ASH PRINCESS by Laura Sebastian 5 Stars Verdict:  An unexpected page-turner. When Theodosia was six, her country was invaded, her people enslaved, and her mother, the queen, was murdered before her eyes. The Kaiser crowned Theo 'Ash Princess', a joke to court and a prisoner to torture. As the rebellion suffers it's greatest fall yet, Theo decides now is the time for her to fight back. I wasn't expecting much for this one. Pretty cover, pretty name, but make no mistakes, this is not a pretty book. Don’t let the word ‘Princess’ fool you, this is a cutthroat story from the very start. And, yes, pun intended, thank you very much. As for trigger warnings, this book ticks a lot of boxes. It involves physical and emotional abuse. Rape is mentioned and there is a violent scene that's difficult to read through. It's a story of colonisation by a ruthless leader who humiliates and tortures a sixteen year old girl as a lesson to his enemies, so that's somethi...

CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE by Tomi Adeyemi 5 Stars Verdict: So good it hurts. The night magic died, Zélie watched her mother's murder as the Maji were slaughtered. Now Zélie has a chance to bring back magic. With the help of her brother and a rogue princess, she must outrun the crown prince and battle her self-doubts to restore magic to the world. This West-African inspired fantasy is powerful and all round awesome from start to finish. The writing is emotive and imaginative, the pacing is as perfect as it gets, and the characters are real with flaws and charm. I hardly know what to say. A brilliant book like this tells the editor in me to shut up and enjoy the ride, so I'd need to read it again to offer more of a critique. If every book was as good as this one, I would never be able to stop reading. The struggles, anger, and pain are carved into this book so deeply that the desires bleed through the pages and the triumphs feel earned. The emotion in this book is ...

THE DARKEST MINDS by Alexandra Bracken 4 Stars Verdict: A sluggish start but a spectacular ending. We've heard it all before. Kids start developing powers at puberty and the government has locked them all up in 'rehabilitation' centres. Ruby, terrified of her powers, is just trying to survive when the resistance takes too much of an interest in how she could help them fight the government. This story could do with an exposition comb run through it, alongside a pair of thought-thinning scissors. It’s a slow read for the most part, dense with info and thought dumping, which left me craving action, plot, and active characters. My first impressions were not great. I actually stopped reading this after the first ten percent earlier this year. Six months later and a third of the way in, I was gearing up for a two star review. I love kids-with-powers stories, but it sounded too much like other dystopians. I felt impatient for it to move along into fresher material. Aft...

EVERYTHING EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon 3 Stars Verdict:  Cute romance and creative storytelling. Madeline has a rare immune system disease called SCID that basically means she's allergic to the world. She stays at home, inside, every single day. She’s home-schooled by her mother and doesn't know anyone her age, until Olly moves in across the road and sees her through her window. This book struck me as perfectly okay. It’s a quick read, great writing, and a super cute romance, but nothing in particular to rave about. The epistolary style means it's short and fast with a mix of different styles: letters, texts, emails, drawings and more. It's a fun and creative way to tell a story. The novelty wears thin but then again, it's short and sweet. The ending ruined it for me. For the sake of liking this author and the book beforehand, I’m going to pretend that didn’t happen. I guess I found this take on the sick kids trope not fresh enough. I've recentl...

CINDER by Marissa Meyer 4 Stars Verdict: A quick and quirky retelling. Ever thought to yourself, what if Cinderella was a cyborg in futuristic Beijing at the brink of war against the moon? Probably not, and no one else has either because this book is an undeniably original retelling with lots of quirks. While it might not explore its concepts in much depth, it’s a lighthearted read with a pace that doesn’t have time for yawns. The writing is smooth, quick, entertaining; a perfect fit for Cinder’s snarky attitude. I liked the banter between Kai and Cinder, both as snarky as each other…although I’m not sold on the romance of this book. Kai felt pushy at times and the chemistry disappeared once Cinder made it clear where she stood. I think I’d have liked the author to handle the situation with more depth so that it felt less like pressurising and more like a puzzle Kai was trying to solve.  A few of the plot’s flaws actually felt more like strengths when reading it. The ma...

OUTRUN THE MOON by Stacy Lee 3 Stars Verdict: Historically rich, plot thin. Mercy is a fifteen-year-old girl with 'bossy cheeks' and a nose for business, and it’s her smarts and strong will that help her set up a meeting to possibly join St Clare’s School for Girls. Growing up in San Francisco Chinatown, 1906, there’s not many opportunities for a girl of her race, but Mercy hopes to wrangle a full scholarship at St Clare's and become a woman of business who can support her family. Mercy comes across as intelligent, witty, and much older than her fifteen years, if only out of necessity. I loved how the author used the mother’s fortune telling to help build non-cliche descriptions of the characters. The odd line here and there, full of Chinese culture or unique imagery, really made me fall in love with the writing. Sadly, I became disenchanted along the way. The story begins as a battle against adversity as a young woman strikes deals and talks her way into succee...

THE GIRL WITH GHOST EYES by M.H. Boroson 3 Stars Verdict: Asian folklore, fierce battles, but something missing... Li-lin is a widow and the daughter of a renowned Daoshi exorcist in San Francisco, Chinatown, 1898. Her gift of seeing the spirits bring shame to her father, and dooms her to a short, pained life. When her father is injured by a sorcerer, Lin-lin must stop an ancient evil from destroying Chinatown. At first I was enthralled by the mythology-rich opening, strong female lead, and the head-first dive into conflict. I enjoyed the introduction of weird and wonderful spirits with added details of Chinese culture and mythology. Five stars were on my mind. However, something felt missing. As the book raced onwards with fight after fight, I started to lose interest. I didn't want to, because I enjoyed the opening so much. But it seemed to focus on the wrong things. It kept introducing new concepts when I craved to learn how all the pieces we already had could fit tog...

FOREST OF A THOUSAND LANTERNS by Julie Dao 5 Stars Verdict: Rich, gradual, and gory. Xiefeng is destined to be Empress of Feng Lu, but only if she lets the darkness guide her... I’ll admit, I can only read one high fantasy story a year and it has to really stand out. In this case, the East-Asia mythology aspect of this one drew me in within an instant. The darkness of the story, the unconventional twists in the relationships, and the gorgeous writing had me slithering through this book slower to enjoy it for longer. I always know a book has me where it wants me as soon as I stop counting pages. Xiefeng is an antihero I could get behind. She’s jealous, selfish, righteous – but her desires, suffering, and efforts and so strong, I rooted for her all the same. For a writer to make me like someone who is morally grey is a kind of magic I want to understand more. There’s no crescendo for this book. No huge twist or gut-wrenching moment which turns the book back on itself. That’...

FIVE FEET APART by Rachael Lippincott et al. 2 Stars Verdict:  Too predictable. Stella and Will have CF. They should always stay at least SIX feet apart. (Light spoiler which is given away in the title too: they don't.) That's pretty much the entire book. The voices are strong and the references are modern which helps it feel slightly 'fresher' than those who have trod around the sick kids plot before, but I spent most of the book waiting for something more to happen. This book taught me a lot about CF that I didn't learn in biology class - the loneliness, the survivors guilt, the strict medication schedule - all the things that don't make up the diagnosis but can be there too. Before this, my knowledge of CF was alleles and lung function. From reading other responses to this title, I appreciate how it raises awareness. My brain started to wander off around the half-way mark. I couldn't help thinking there wasn't much pulling Stella and Will...

GIRLS OF PAPER AND FIRE #1 by Natasha Ngan  4 Stars Verdict: A beautiful and difficult tale. With a book like this, I think it’s important to point out that it’s not for everyone. It explores the theme of sexual abuse in a way that’s unavoidable, unskippable. The scenes aren’t graphic, but the emotion is, or at least it felt like that to me. Please bare that in mind before reading. Lei is part of the Paper cast, meaning she’s human from head to toe, unlike the power and magical chimera-like casts that are afforded the better status in Ikhara. She’s taken from her small village and made into one of the chosen eight concubines of the bull king. Unlike the other concubines, Lei refuses to submit to the 'honour' of being a Paper girl. When I heard this was a fantasy novel inspired by Asian culture, I had to have it. Asian mythology has inspired my own writing, so I couldn't wait to sink into this tale, and the world building definitely delivered. The premise is dark...