Review: In the unlikely event by Judy Blume

In the unlikely event by Judy Blume
Publisher: Picador
Releasa date: 4 June 2015
Rating: *****
Back cover blurb: In 1987, Miri Ammerman returns to her hometown of Elizabeth, New Jersey, to attend a commemoration of the worst year of her life. Thirty-five years earlier, when Miri was fifteen and in love for the first time, three planes fell from the sky within three months, leaving a community reeling. Against this backdrop of actual events in the early 1950s, when airline travel was new and exciting and everyone dreamed of going somewhere, Judy Blume weaves a haunting story of three generations of families, friends, and strangers, whose lives are for ever changed in the aftermath. The plane crashes bring some people closer together and tear others apart; they create myths and unlock secrets. As Miri experiences the ordinary joys and pains of growing up in extraordinary circumstances, a young journalist makes his name reporting tragedy. And through it all, one generation reminds another that life goes on. 

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was when I heard that Judy Blume was writing a new adult novel. Not only was Judy one of my favourite authors growing up, but it was a novel featuring plane crashes (yes, I know I'm strange, but we've been here before)!!

In the unlikely event is set in 1950s Elizabeth, New Jersey. A place that become known as the 'Plane Crash City' when three planes crashed en route to or from Newark airport between December 1951 and February 1952. The tragic demise of these flights; Miami Airlines (Non scheduled), American Airlines 6780, National Airlines 101 was eventually ruled to be unrelated, but it shook a community to its core.

In the unlikely event is told from a number of different perspectives (quite a large number actually), but you really get to know each one of them individually. Judy's strength as a writer has always been to get inside a teenage girl's head and let out all of their anxiety on to us the reader - who usually at the time was a teenage girl with those exact same anxieties herself.

Perhaps it is because of this ability that Miri (Miriam, 'Mirabelle') was my absolute favourite character in this novel. Miri is Fifteen at the time of the first crash, she has (literally) just gotten herself a boyfriend and is feeling pretty pleased with life. 

The crash changes everything.

Having gained a boyfriend, Miri loses one of her best friends to the crash; not physically for Natalie is still alive, but emotionally things will never be the same between them. The same goes for many of Elizabeth's residents. 

Witnessing a plane crash can be life changing.

When the second plane crashes, the calls for Newark airport to be shut grow increasingly louder. It takes the third plane to crash before the calls are heard and taken seriously. At Miri's school conspiracy theories are rife, and Miri shares these in the school newspaper, only to be threatened with exclusion.

As the community begin to rebuild their lives, some are unable to stay in Elizabeth and begin to move away from the city, the consequences of the crashes more far reaching than anyone could have envisaged. 

In the unlikely event is a wonderful novel, very honest, beautifully written; and not just for Judy Blume fans!
 

In the unlikely event is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.  

Review: the Ladies of the house by Molly McGrann

the Ladies of the house by Molly McGrann
Publisher: Picador
Release date: 26 March 2015
Rating: ***
Back cover blurb: On a hot July day, three elderly people are found dead in a dilapidated house in Primrose Hill. Reading the story in a newspaper as she prepares to leave the country, Marie Gillies has an unshakable feeling that she is somehow to blame. How did these three people come to live together, and how did they all die at once? The truth lies in a very different England, and in the secret world of the ladies of the house... 

 

the Ladies of the house from its outset, is an intriguing novel. The opening chapter setting the scene for mystery that follows. A mystery, I felt as a reader that was never entirely cleared up, and left me wondering if I had missed something along the way.

the Ladies of the house begins in the present day with the discovery of three bodies in a London house and Marie Gillies at an airport for the first time in her sheltered life learning of the deaths via a newspaper. She feels in some way responsible for those days, but why exactly is that?

Arthur Gillies, Marie's father was a wealthy man, who kept his true worth from his family until he died, and even then it is only revealed by an inexperienced bank clerk. It is made clear to the family that they must never again mention Arthur Gillies' fortune, and instead must consult with Mr Wye regarding any financial matter.

But what does all this have to do with the bodies in the house? Well, as the plot develops it becomes easy for us the reader to see exactly how Arthur made his fortune (and why he thought it might be a good idea to keep it from his family).

Sadly it is less clear why Marie feels somehow responsible for the deaths that she reads about. And I'm still not sure whether I misinterpreted the ending of the novel, whether I missed something, or indeed whether there was anything for me to miss!

the Ladies of the house I think is a book that some will love. Me, well I'm still not sure, but it certainly was 'different' to anything I've read previously.

the Ladies of the house is available from 26 March 2015. You can pre-order it now from Picador and Amazon online.

      Thank you to the publishers who approved my request via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Autobiography Of Us by Aria Beth Sloss

Autobiography Of Us by Aria Beth Sloss
Publisher: Picador
Release date: 3 July 2014
Rating: ****
Back cover blurb: Coming of age in early 1960s suburban California, Rebecca Madden and her beautiful, reckless best friend Alex dream of lives beyond their mothers' narrow expectations. As teenagers they are inseparable. But then, one sweltering evening the summer before their college graduation, a single act of betrayal changes everything . . . Decades later, Rebecca's haunting confession reveals the truth about that night, the years that followed, and the friendship that defined her.

When I received Autobiography of Us in the post, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. From the outset I'll admit, it did look to be more than just 'chick lit', but I wasn't necessarily convinced that it would be my kind of book. 

I do, however, try to never judge a book by its cover, so it went fairly near to the top of my 'to be read' pile (which is in release date order... sort of).

I finally got around to picking it up last Sunday. It was a glorious sunny afternoon here in Wales and I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment. I wasn't wrong.

We meet Rebecca Madden our protagonist in her freshman year homeroom. Alex Carrington is being introduced to the class. Beautiful, popular and rich, she is eveything that Rebecca thinks she isn't. They soon become fast friends, 'Blood Sisters' in fact.

Rebecca is often in awe of her beautiful friend, who's dream is to become an actress. Rebecca, wants to study medicine. But this is the fifties, and unfortunately quite often what women want, and what they actually get are two very different things.

Their friendship goes from strength to strength until the pair go to a wedding together with some of their other close friends. Rebecca is unused to drinking, and the heady mix of alcohol and male attention makes her behave in a way she would never normally dream of. Resulting in devastating consequences for her and those around her.

Can Alex and Rebecca's friendship survive? Well you will have to give the novel a read to find out. Lets just say I wasn't anticipating the outcome of the novel.

 Autobiography of Us is available to buy now from Amazon online and all good book shops.     Thank you to the publishers who sent me a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
Publisher: Picador
Release date: 03 July 2014
Rating: ****
Back cover blurb: There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. On an autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a grand house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways. Nella is at first mystified by the closed world of the Brandt household, but as she uncovers its secrets she realizes the escalating dangers that await them all. Does the miniaturist hold their fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their salvation or the architect of their downfall? 

 

The Miniaturist is an intriguing debut novel. Set in Amsterdam's wealthiest quarter during the 1680's, the Miniaturist follows Petronella (Nella) Oortman from her arrival at her new marital home, to the trial of her husband for a crime that I cannot mention in fear of giving away some of the plot.

Nella is expecting a loving welcome when she arrives at her new husband's house in 1686, instead she is met by his standoffish sister, the giggling maid, Cornelia and Otto, the first dark skinned man that Nella has seen. Her husband Johannes is away on business and nobody seems to know when he might return.

Their marriage has been arranged after the untimely death of Nella's Father and her Mother's discovery of the family's debt. Nella after meeting Johannes Brandt, is certain that her marriage is for love and not convenience, but the absence of her husband on her arrival and the attitude of his sister cast doubt upon her beliefs.

 

The arrival of Johannes himself does little to ease these doubts, Nella's new husband is a workaholic who shows her next to nothing in the way of affection until he arrives home one day with a present for her. Some may argue that it has been bought as a distraction, so that Nella cannot 'bother' her husband, but I will let you make up your own mind about that as the story continues.

 

The gift itself; A cabinet house, an intricate model house that replicates their own. At first Nella is opposed to the gift, thinking of it as a child's toy, but gradually she warms to the idea of furnishing it, and gets in touch with a local miniaturist who will make custom made pieces for the cabinet.

 

When they arrive Nella is astounded not only by the accuracy and quality of the pieces that she has asked for, but also at the addition of extra items that she did not ask for. Items that accurately represent parts of Nella's new home and life, that an insider should know nothing about.

 

The miniaturist continues to send these pieces despite Nella's protests, and as they continue to arrive, more and more of the families secrets begin to be revealed and the Brandt's once private lives begin to unravel in the most public of ways.

The Miniaturist is available to buy from Amazon online and all good book shops.

 

    Thank you to the publishers who approved my request on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: The Vacationers by Emma Straub

The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Publisher: Picador

Release date: 5 June 2014

Rating: *** and a half

Back cover blurb: It was set to be the family vacation of a lifetime. From Manhattan to Majorca, two weeks in a remote island villa, with the sort of relaxation, culture and cuisine that only Europe can offer. At least, that was Franny's plan. She wasn't counting on the extra baggage ...
 




 






The Vacationers was a quick but satisfying read for me. I've not read anything by Emma Straub before, so I didn't have any particular expectations going in to the novel. From the back cover blurb I was expecting a fun summery read, and that was exactly what I got.

The book centres around the Post family who are swapping their lives in Manhattan, USA for a two week vacation in Mallorca, Spain. Staying in a villa acquired through a friend, the Posts are expecting the holiday to paper over the cracks of their fractured lives, if not repair them fully.

For Franny, it is a chance to get away from it all and try to repair her marriage to Jim, the very same marriage that they should be celebrating thirty-five years of.

For Jim, it is a chance to try and fix things with Franny, to show how much he regrets past events, and he is not

For Sylvia at 18, it is her last family holiday prior to enrolling at Brown University. The Posts have booked Sylvia a Spanish tutor, Joan to make the most of their time there. As soon as Sylvia sets eyes on the beautiful Joan, she is no longer contemplating the local lingo, but instead checking out the local talent.

Joined in Mallorca by their son Bobby Post, 28 years old, with a girlfriend ten years his senior who no one much likes, and Franny's best friend Charles and his boyfriend Lawrence, the Posts vacation was never going to be the quick fix that the family needed.

But none of them are prepared for the chaos that ensues, the lessons they learn and the emotions they feel over the short two week period.

Is it the heat? The Country? Or something else entirely? Pop this book into your beach bag and join the Posts on vacation to find out... 

The Vacationers is available to buy online now and from all good book shops.

    Thank you to the publishers who sent me an advanced proof copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.