The Scattering by Jaki McCarrick

review by Maryom

The Scattering is the debut collection of short stories from Jaki McCarrick. There are 19 in all, set mainly in the border area of Eire and Northern Ireland though the location can move to London or the US, and backwards and forwards in time.
Borders of one sort or another run through a lot of the stories - between North and South, life and death, the 'real' world and the supernatural. Not firmly fixed or sharply defined borders either but shifting, ambiguous ones.

Many of the stories deal with the darker side of life - with pain and loss - which gives the collection a rather melancholy feel though with touches of dark humour.
The Past is ever present, too - sometimes in the guise of a 'golden time' from which people don't want to move on; more often in the legacy of the Troubles which still casts a shadow over people's lives.
Did I enjoy the book? I'm not sure 'enjoy' is the right word but certainly I was moved by many of the stories.
My favourite was The Tribe - in which a man travels back in time to try to prevent the destruction of Earth by Mankind. Does he succeed or is he stuck in the one of those loops that plague everyone trying to change history? It's for the reader to decide.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Seren Books
Genre - adult literary fiction, short stories

Buy  The Scattering from Amazon

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

review by Maryom

"Set in a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called The Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed. When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her younger sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature"

I've come to The Hunger Games really late - and only then after seeing the film - and had rather dismissed it as another Twilight-y teen fad so I was somewhat surprised on two fronts - how closely the film followed the book and how good the book is!

Most people probably already know about the great world-building in this dystopian novel - there are a few cracks in it that made me wonder Why should that happen? but take it as a given ( as you might the world from Mad Max) and it's brilliant. The characters are well developed too - no cardboard cut-outs except for some of the minor ones. It's almost impossible to have avoided people discussing Katniss and her role as a kick-ass heroine but she most definitely is - perhaps even more so in the book than the film version. She's not your average heroine but a girl who's had to hunt and kill to put food on the table. The harshness of her life has definitely shaped her and her outlook on life. Fellow games contestant Peta is different altogether - he's had a comparatively cushy life as a baker's son and he's far more emotionally vulnerable than Katniss.

Really all I can say is that all the good things you've heard about this are true. I now need to catch up with the rest of the series.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher - Scholastic
Genre - teen, dystopian

Buy The Hunger Games from Amazon

Stop Dead by Leigh Russell

Review by The Mole

Geraldine Steel is once again in the middle of a murder investigation. Once again the body count rises and as it does the link between the victims - once strong and seemingly a lead - becomes less and less. All the original suspects are eliminated as the story unfolds because motives and opportunities lose their relevance. When they no longer have any suspects, things start to falter and Geraldine feels the stress like she's never felt it before. Can she find the killer before even more crimes are committed?

And on top of this Geraldine is having difficulty adjusting to the London scene. Her sergeant is friendly and supportive but has personal issues with Nick, the inspector  that Geraldine shares an office with. And then Geraldine starts with similar issues. And while she is loving her work she is also somewhat depressed and missing the camaraderie and friendships she has left behind.

Quite a different story compared to the previous stories where we knew who the killer was and were willing Geraldine on towards a solution, this one is much more of a whodunnit. In this we witness most of the crimes but as each crime occurs we are further away from the scene and far less understanding of the killers 'drive'. Except in one case where the victim survives.. so surely that will lead us to the killer? Wouldn't it be easy to make that the solution? Russell doesn't do 'easy'!

Another fantastic read that will have you guessing for much of the book and trying to 'get inside' the mind of the killer while the personal life of Steel continues to intertwine with story as the mystery unfolds. There is no need to have read the previous books but you will understand Geraldine better if you do. 

Publisher - No Exit Press
Genre - Adult Crime Thriller

Buy Stop Dead (Geraldine Steel 5) (DI Geraldine Steel) from Amazon

Don't Look Back by S B Hayes

review by Maryom

When they were young, Sinead and her older brother Patrick would play a game they called 'Following Patrick's Footsteps' - wherever he went, she had to follow, doing exactly as he did. Now grown up into a domineering, manipulative drug addict, used to having all his whims gratified, particularly by his mother, Patrick has disappeared. Behind him he's left a series of clues for Sinead to follow, just like in their old childhood game. Can she follow in his footsteps one last time and save him? and, if she does, will she finally be free of the hold he has over her?
The trail leads to a mysterious country house and to a young man who's returned to his family home in search of answers of his own...

Don't Look Back is a YA thriller with heavy supernatural overtones. You have to suspend disbelief as you read - not for any supernatural element (that goes without saying) but to accept that anyone could be as domineering, manipulative and self-centred as Patrick - and that he's been allowed, even encouraged, to continue that way. The attitude of his mother doesn't make any sense nor does Sinead's compulsion to join in his 'game'. Accept all this though and it's a good story. One clue leads Sinead to the next - and inevitably into danger.

I didn't like the ending though. Things didn't feel resolved - but maybe that's because the outcome wasn't the one I'd have chosen.


 Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - Quercus
Genre - YA supernatural thriller

Buy Don't Look Back from Amazon

Lollipop and Grandpa's Dinosaur Hunt by Penelope Harper

Illustrated by Cate James
Review by The Mole

Dinosaurs are always fun and Grandpa and Lollipop go on a hunt and find more than you would expect - and in places you wouldn't expect.

This is a definite 'read aloud' book as the hunt relies on wordplay and is excellently done - more than can be said for Lollipop's photography!

The illustrations are also cleverly done to help the young reader see what Lollipop sees. Full colour throughout with the emphasis on fun and entertainment.

A MUST to read aloud and share as Lollipop goes all out to show she can be just as whacky as Grandpa!

There is a section in the back that explains the dinosaurs they find - so there is some education in it too.

Publisher - Phoenix Yard Books
Genre - Children's picture book

Buy Lollipop and Grandpa's Dinosaur Hunt from Amazon

Perfect by Rachel Joyce

review by Maryom

In 1972 to make 'artificial' clock time agree with 'real' time measured by the Earth's movement, two seconds were added to the year. Hardly any time at all. Blink and you'd miss them. And after all, what could possibly happen in those two extra seconds? Well, as it turns out for 11 year old Byron Hemmings and his family, enough to change his whole world. A small accident kicks off events in the way that a small trickle of water seeping through a dam can eventually bring everything crashing down.

The story is told from two angles; that of Byron, back in 1972, struggling to understand what is happening as his once ordered and mapped out life is derailed and sent spinning out of control; and in the present, that of 50-something Jim who's spent his life in and out of psychiatric care, struggling to find order in a chaotic world, but taking the first tentative, stumbling steps towards a relationship. It's only as the story draws to a close that the reader realises the relationship between the two story-lines.

Perfect is an amazing second novel from Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry - and, in my opinion, a far more complex and compelling story. It's rather dark but has the emotional pull that keeps me reading. I so wanted to discover what would happen to the characters, how the two halves would connect and would there be a happy, or at least hopeful, ending.
Joyce has been more ambitious this time with a wider range of characters, drawn with sympathy and understanding. Byron struggling to understand the changes taking place in his world; his mother, Diana, with her carefully built oh-so-perfect, but essentially hollow, life; and Jim with his daily 'rituals' that must be observed to keep the randomness of the universe at bay. There is of course a villain - the devious, manipulating Beverley who turns events to her advantage and infiltrates Byron's perfect world with devastating consequences. Byron may not understand her and her motives but the reader does, all too well!

Perfect is a novel exploring the fragility of our lives, particularly if like Diana's they're a sham - the events set in motion in those fateful two seconds bring the whole façade crashing down. There's more than a touch of chaos theory about things - like the butterfly flapping its wings and creating a hurricane, one simple act sparks a chain reaction; some are engulfed by it; others turn it to their advantage.

Harold Fry brought Rachel Joyce a whole flood of fans, this will bring even more!

Maryom's Review - 5 stars
Publisher: Transworld Books
Genre: Adult, literary


Buy Perfect from Amazon

The Naming of Tishkin Silk by Glenda Millard

Illustrated by Caroline Magerl

Review by The Mole

Griffin's father calls him an 'uncommon' boy - and yes he is. He also comes over as burdened with a secret - one that leaves him with a sombre air. He is just starting school and the qualities that make him 'uncommon' are also the ones that lead to him being bullied. When Layla, a classmate, approaches him their friendship is sealed in moments. Layla knows that there is something wrong in Griffin's life and knows she cannot ask about it... until one day when the time is absolutely right.

I found that this story, although aimed at the younger reader, was totally engaging and I found myself unable to put this book down. Fortunately at 95 pages and aimed at younger readers it didn't take long to read. Although the family and its customs were something that I could not relate to, they were so different to the 'norm' that it didn't retract from the story at all. After reading I found it was set in Australia which accounted for some of the words which I had accepted as idiomatic.

Although this series of books has won many awards in Australia, I did find myself wondering what age group it was targeting. The message it carries, with so great an effect, is as relevant to parents as it is to children, and I found as a parent that the story was highly readable. The black and white drawings that are dotted around the book do, however, give the feel that it is targeted at the younger reader.
An excellent book - now to move on to "Layla Queen of Hearts" the second book in the six book series.

Publisher - Phoenix Yard Books
Genre - Children's fiction

Buy The Naming of Tishkin Silk (Kingdom of Silk) from Amazon