The Squire - Enid Bagnold

1. Have I heard of the author? Who is she and what is her life story?

No, I haven't. The name didn't even sound familiar to me so I needed all the research I could do. And boy, did I find a lot.

First off, I found out that I really should have known Enid Bagnold, because she has written quite a few books. Here is her life in bullet points:

• Born on the 27th of October in 1889 in Rochester, Kent
• Grew up in Jamaica, Marburg, Germany, Paris and Lausanne.
• At 20, she moved to Chelsea to study drawing
• Was a nurse during World War I, but was fired when she wrote critically about the hospital - written about in A Diary Without Dates (1918 and her debut novel!)
• She then became a driver in France, which she wrote about in The Happy Foreigner (1920)
• Married in 1920 and lived in Brighton with her husband and four children! (the imagination of having number five inspired The Squire - 1938)
• She died in 1981

Now there's lots more to find out about Enid, but I just wanted a short summary so I knew where she came from and what time period she lived in. If you want to know more about her, you can read this amazing Telegraph article about her life.

2. What did this book teach me? (This could be about the time period, womanhood, daily struggles,...)

This book taught me a lot about motherhood and most importantly giving birth. The time period is the 1930s and there weren't any real ways to help women with birth. They just kinda had to push the baby out and only had a midwife to help them. 

Added to that, the squire (who is never named) has four children and her husband is not home when she has the baby. Hence, why she's called the squire because she has to run the house. This is tough. She has help, she's a wealthy lady, but the help is extremely unreliable. Besides the midwife, who only stays for the birth and one week after, she has no one. So the two weeks we see of the squire's life are hard. Really hard.

This has taught me 1. that women are extremely strong and capable of dealing with whatever situation is thrown at them and 2. If I ever have a baby, I cannot complain about the birth. There's anaesthetics, good help and a safe hospital environment. It has to be a breeze compared to what the squire went through.

3. Is there a more famous book I could compare this book to?

I really can't think of another book to compare this too, because it's so specifically about the birth process and there are not a lot of books about that. 

However, Margaret Drabble has said: 'Imagine To the Lighthouse written by Mrs Ramsay expecting her fifth child and you get something of the spirit of this intense and passionate novel.'

So I guess To The Lighthouse is the closest suggestion I can give. 

4. Why does this book matter?

This book matters because, even in 2015, giving birth is kind of a taboo subject. We talk about how beautiful pregnancy is and how lovely newborns are, but the real process of giving birth is ignored by most authors. This is a subject that can only really be tackled by a woman and as a woman I found it refreshing to read about this natural part of many lives.

5. Are there men in the book and what is their role? 

So basically, there are no men in this book besides the squire's two sons - who are little boys. We are told that the squire asked her husband to leave a few weeks before the birth so the house would be calmer and the birth process would be easier for her. This indicates that the husband is probably not very useful.

There is a butler who walks around, but he is very weary of the whole process. He likes children, there is a heartwarming moment where he sees the baby, but the whole process of birth is weird to him and he tries to avoid the squire and midwife as much as possible.

So what is the role of men? I guess to stay out of the way during the birth.

Conclusion

I think this book is really quite a peculiar read. If you want to know more about Enid Bagnold, then don't read it. You really find out very little about the Squire and more about the process of a rich woman giving birth a baby. It's somehow all very impersonal and distant, yet close enough that you keep reading and want to find out what happens.

This definitely wasn't my favourite book - besides the baby being born not a whole lot happens - but it is one of the most interesting books I've read. If you are pregnant of thinking about starting a family or have had children before, this book might just be perfect for you. For me, young and childless, there just wasn't much to relate to and it didn't teach me enough to make a great impression on me.

Bookhaaaaul

Yes. I'm on a book buying ban. 

Yes. This is my bookhaul video.

Sorry not sorry.

We All Looked Up - Tommy Wallach

RATING: ★★★★☆

I got this book from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Multiple people narration seems to be the trendy thing in YA literature. It's safe in that, if you give a reader several narrators, they'll probably really relate to one of those. It's risky because many times it gets confusing to read and there's not enough depth to any of the characters to make the story really interesting.

However, YA writers keep trying and Tommy Wallach is no exception. But how well did he pull this off?

Plot

Four high school seniors put their hopes, hearts, and humanity on the line as an asteroid hurtles toward Earth in this contemporary novel.

They always say that high school is the best time of your life.

Peter, the star basketball player at his school, is worried “they” might actually be right. Meanwhile Eliza can’t wait to escape Seattle—and her reputation—and perfect-on-paper Anita wonders if admission to Princeton is worth the price of abandoning her real dreams. Andy, for his part, doesn’t understand all the fuss about college and career—the future can wait.

Or can it? Because it turns out the future is hurtling through space with the potential to wipe out life on Earth. As these four seniors—along with the rest of the planet—wait to see what damage an asteroid will cause, they must abandon all thoughts of the future and decide how they’re going to spend what remains of the present.

Main Characters

So four main characters means that this book reads mostly like a character piece. To review it fairly, I'll discuss the story of all four characters from favourite to least favourite. 

1. Peter

Oh Peter. His narrative is the first one in the book and also my favourite. Though he starts off so very cliché (dumb jock that wants more from life but can't figure out how), the reader soon figures out that he's anything but cliché. The thing I really liked about Peter? He's nice. Just really really nice. No alternative motives or big plans - Peter is just nice to people and always believes the best in everyone. I loved that about him, because there are not many nice guy narrators around. He's a jock, he's kinda dumb and you can't help but love him because he loves everyone else. Just a small warning: he will break your heart.

2. Anita

Anita; another cliché at the beginning who turns out to be so much more. I loved the fact that she's the brainy girl and she's African American! Finally some diversity! She's trying to please her parents while also finding her own way and she really struggles with that more than the average teen does. In the end, she's so likeable because she's witty and tries to do the right thing whenever she can and you can't help but admire her for that. 

3. Andy

I wasn't sure whether to rate Andy or Eliza third, since they both really annoyed me for several different reasons. With Andy, I just didn't get him. At all. I didn't get why he did what he did, I didn't understand his thought process and if I had to read one more time about him thinking about sex, I would have gone crazy. I couldn't relate to him at all, but he did do some entertaining things that made the story more fun to read so I could handle him. Plus I think other readers will understand him better than I did.

4. Eliza

Who I couldn't handle was Eliza - the gorgeous girl who doesn't believe she's gorgeous but everyone else thinks she is. Yawn. I liked her in the beginning because she slept around and she talked about it like it was empowering to her. Finally a YA book where female virginity isn't held up like the crème de la crème - Eliza wasn't scared to use her sexuality to please herself and others. Unfortunately at the end, she says she regrets all the guys she has slept with, she's embarrassed and doesn't want to do it anymore. I felt bad for her, her father is dying and her mother is missing, but I wish she would have been so much less cliché at the end. Maybe what I hated most about Eliza was the fact that I really liked her in the beginning and was just so disappointed in her character development.

So multiple people as narrators...

Did it work? I think Tommy Wallach is one of the few authors I've read who was really successful in juggling four different narrations. Though I didn't like all the characters, they all had enough depth to be enjoyable to read and I think other people will like the characters I disliked - it's a taste thing. Since it's a tale about the world possibly ending, I think seeing how that fact changes several people's lives is very effective - it just makes it more interesting and realistic. Everyone is different and everyone responds different to the threat of an ending world.

Rating

We All Looked Up is a solid four. I didn't really like the ending nor all the characters, but the writing is fast paced, easy to read and the concept of an ending world in a contemporary book works really well. I definitely enjoyed it and I think almost everyone can find something to love in this book.

The Winner's Curse - Marie Rutkoski

RATING: ★★★★☆

I joined a new book club recently to try and read YA books that I normally wouldn't pick up. I really want to expand my literary horizons this year and since I'm writing a YA novel, I want to read as much, and a lot of diverse YA, as possible. This is how I ended up reading The Winners Curse by Marie Rutkoski - I always loved the dress on the cover of the book but was never really motivated to buy it. Until now.

Plot

Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 
 

Summary sounds kind of familiar... 

So that summary from Goodreads sounds like it's a one in a million young adult book. Boy and girl. Some weird world. Unfair relationship. Blossoming love. Difficult choices. Blablabla - I've read a handful of books like that before and I only started reading YA fantasy a few months ago.

However, what it says about the book is that it's impossible to create a blurb that does it justice. I tried to make a better summary, but I just couldn't think of anything that can really explain the book.

At the core, it is just that summary with all the elements you have seen time and time before. But when you read it, it's so much more. And that's mostly because Kestrel is not like other YA narrator.

Kestrel is not kick-ass

Kestrel is not strong. Kestrel does not have any superpower. Kestrel is basically just a normal girl who is stuck in a difficult position. Some might argue that Kestrel is extremely intelligent, but I don't think that's even the case. She's just smart enough to know how to survive, yet she doesn't do anything really extraordinary. Kestrel is brave and stands up for what is right and that doesn't always end well for her, which is so refreshing compared to the female YA characters that can defeat everyone and everything - it doesn't always work like that and it doesn't work like that for Kestrel.

Romance

Besides the fact that Kestrel is surprisingly normal for a fantasy narrator, the romance is also so much more realistic than the average YA book romance. Usually, it all goes VERY fast and it's intense - it either ends perfectly or it ends horribly. No in between.

However, in the Winner's Curse, there is a middle ground. Both Kestrel and Arin realise the difficulties that come from a relationship where one person is in power and one isn't at all (as slave, Arin really has nothing to say) and neither of them try to gloss over it. It's a real issue and the book takes the time to really explore what that issue means for both of the characters.

Rating

So basically, this book takes all the cliché YA fantasy elements and just gives them a little twists. You'll still recognise all the things you love to read in another YA books, but the story surprises you with all the twists and turns it takes. This book won't ever be one of my all time favourites, probably because fantasy just isn't my favourite genre, but it was a very enjoyable and surprising read so four out of five stars. 

Congratulations Louise O'Neill!

Yesterday was the day - the YA Book Prize winner was announced and I am SO happy that Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill won! It is one of my favorite books of all time and it deserves every single award!

I was at the ceremony and below are some pictures!

All 10 nominated books were of course on display and don't they just look gorgeous together? Absolutely loved this display!

8 out of the 10 nominated authors showed up - who all wrote amazing books and so deserved to be nominated!

However, there is only one winner and this year that was Louise O'Neill!

Mother's Day: The Book Edition

Who doesn't love mothers? I absolutely adore my mother because she's not just a mother - she's my friend, my editor and the only person I can take criticism from (and even then not really well).

So for UK's Mother's Day I want to make a post honouring five YA moms that just get it. There's so much literature about bad parents, but for today, we are focus on the good ones. So in random order, here are five of my favourite YA mothers.

1. Sally Jackson: Percy Jackson - Rick Riordan

Is this even a surprise? She's supportive, loves her son and trusts him enough so that he can go save the world. She doesn't bug him with calls and annoying texts - she believes in him and that's all a child really needs. Percy's mom is my favourite YA mom because she lets her child grow on his own, while letting him know that she supports him. 

 

 

2. We Were Liars - E. Lockhart

Okay, let me explain this before you start judging me. We Were Liars is not a book about mothers, but it is a book about family. Cadence is damaged, severely mentally damaged, and her mother is doing just about anything to keep her daughter from falling apart. She organises her whole life around the wellbeing of Cadence and that's impressive. She knows what horrible things have happened, but she gives her daughter space to figure it out on her own. The Sinclair family might be all messed up and the mother wasn't always the best mother, but she's trying to be.

3. Molly Weasley: Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling

No, not Harry's mom. Though dying for your child is a sign of being a great mother, I just don't feel like I know enough about her to rank her on this list. Molly Weasley however is FANTASTIC. She loves all her children and she protects them no matter what. I mean, hello the Bellatrix scene? Molly Weasley deserves all the mom cred she can get just for that, let alone the years she spend caring, feeding, providing and worrying about her children.

4. Paula: Trouble - Non Pratt

I know my YA Book Prize thing is over, but I couldn't not include this mother. Her 15 year old daughter gets pregnant and yes, she gets angry for a little bit, but then she's completely supportive. Understanding. Loving. Helpful. Just being an AMAZING mom. There's a special shoutout here to the grandma in Trouble - she's even more kickass and the mother of the mother so she counts too. And 1.why is there no Trouble fanart? Get on that internet! 2. Thank you to the lovely Non Pratt for reminding me of Paula's name! 

5. Narcissa Malfoy: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

I REALLY didn't want to put two Harry Potter mothers on here, but YA authors: you just don't do enough good mothers. While Narcissa might not be everyone's top pick, I can really appreciate her. She's in a tough position: her husband wants to be buddies with Voldemort and she just wants to protect her son. In the end, she risks everything to make sure her son is safe. That's all she wants: to hear that Draco is safe. Losing everything over that is a big deal and I believe only a great mother would risk that. 

So those are some of my favourite moms and it was a struggle to even find five I liked! But I'm sure that means more that I forget the mothers in YA stories than that there are none, so let me know who you would put on this list and why!

My Top 10 Favorite YA Book Prize Characters

Agree?

Disagree? (you better fight me over Freida because I'm not changing her position!)