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ClareR (5542 KP) rated What Beauty There Is in Books

Apr 12, 2021

What Beauty There Is

Cory Anderson | 2021 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

What Beauty There Is has to be my most surprising read of the year so far. What I wasn’t expecting was the beautiful, lyrical, desolate story of two brothers struggling to survive together against the odds. Everything is so well expressed in this novel: two boys left alone with nothing.

The older brother, 17 year old Jack, is determined not to lose his younger brother to the foster care system. When they find themselves alone with no chance of help, Jack decides that he needs to find the drug money that his father hid before his arrest. The thing is, he’s not the only one looking for the money. The man who is also looking for it, Bardem, will do anything to get what he believes is his. Jack and Matty’s lives are in danger. And not just from Bardem. The local drug dealers also want payback for what Jack and Matty’s father did, and they’re happy for the boys to pay for it - with their lives.
I spent most of this book with my heart in my mouth. These boys, even with the help of Ava, are in so much danger. The fact that Ava is Bardem’s daughter (an I’m giving nothing away here)did nothing to calm my fears for them.
I won’t sugar coat this - it’s not a happy book, and another clear example of the term “Young Adult” being completely arbitrary. The fact that it is under the YA heading really shouldn’t put anyone off reading it. It is so well written, stunningly so, and I’d highly recommend it.

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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Invisible In A Bright Light in Books

Sep 24, 2020

Invisible In A Bright Light

Sally Gardner | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, Young Adult (YA)

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

This story is told from multiple perspectives and the protagonist of this book should be Celeste, a girl who wakes up in a basket as someone else, a girl called Maria. Celeste is very confused about who is this Maria, and why she is living her life. Even though this book tells Celeste’s journey, for me, the true protagonist of this book is Hildegard, a young girl, who was abused and bullied by her self centred mother. This whole story is kind of about her. That is the beauty of this book, the characters are so closely connected and entwined, that it makes this book a one beautiful and complex work of art.

I have to admit, this book was quite hard to read sometimes. Even though the plot is great and absorbing, the writing style felt quite jumpy and chaotic, and that made this book a little difficult to understand sometimes. I have to admit, if I would read it as a child, it would not make sense to me, but reading it as an adult, I truly learned how to enjoy it to the fullest. The author discussed very important topics in this book, such as emotional and physical abuse against children, lack of confidence in children, loss, friendship, self-obsession, and many more. The plot was quite layered, sometimes it is a ghost story, sometimes an adventure and it is filled with plenty of magic as well, all these changes in the atmosphere kept me entertained throughout the pages.