Book Review: Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight

From Goodreads: Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight is two weeks in the life of Joel Hedges and Cat Davis. Joel would prefer to get through his final year of high school without Cat Davis or his mother's faux Spanish boyfriend and just hang-out with his best-friend Luke. Cat Davis has an annoying best-friend, and even more annoying little brother, and a deep abiding hatred of Joel Hedges.
Due to an unfortunate incident involving a leaking pen and suspected outbreak of Bird Flu, Joel and Cat are forced to sit next to each other in Extension English. To make matters worse, and to their mutual horror, they are paired together for a tandem story writing assignment. 

Thoughts: A tandem story about a tandem story! I am in awe of anyone who can write a good tandem story. I've read books where it worked really well like Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens, Green and Levithan's Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I've seen disasters like Picoult and van Leer's Between the Lines. Earls and Sparrow I am glad to report pulled it off with great aplomb! Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight is what good quality young adult fiction should be. It's fun, interesting, thought provoking, has a little bit of angst and laugh out loud funny.
For me, any good YA does have a bit of a moral/ education to it. Maybe it's the mum in me, maybe it's the teacher, or maybe it's just that I like books that give you that little bit extra than just pure entertainment. The real skill is presenting that information without hitting teens over the head with it, because, lets face it, we can't teach them anything! (Oh to be back in that time when I knew EVERYTHING!) The message in Joel and Cat can be summed up beautifully in this meme

Things are not always what they seem. The person who seems to have it all in reality most probably doesn't. It takes nothing to be kind and non-judgmental. You may find out something you never knew.

Joel and Cat Set the Record Straight gets 4 stars

 *        Did not like it
**       It was OK
***      Liked it
****    Really liked it

*****   It was amazing

Book Review: Monica Bloom

From Goodreads: Matt Sherman is in his final year of school. And he's ready to move onto bigger and better things. But from the moment he hears her voice over the fence, Matt knows he has to meet his neighbours' cousin, Monica Bloom. She's just flown in from Dublin ready for the start of school, but not at all ready, it turns out, for what the year holds.

Things slip out of control when Matt's dad is embroiled in a scandal at work that makes news headlines. Meanwhile, Monica Bloom finds trouble of her own, and Matt finds that he can't stop thinking about her.

Thoughts: Another quality read from Nick Earls.I don't know exactly what it is about Earls that makes him able to take me back to when I was a teenager and dealing with all the (as far you are concerned)life and death matters of that age. I read his young adult fiction and think "Oh God, yes, I remember those first torturous conversations with the boy I liked!"
 Where Earls shone in this book though was his handling of the way Matt reacted to what was happening with his dad. He was aware of it, knew very well that it had long term consequences, but his focus was still on Monica Bloom. I know as a teen whenever there was upheaval in our family, I was aware of it, but it was out of my control - very little I did or could do would change it. In the end, you rode it out, maybe tried to be a little more helpful, a little more considerate, but in the end it was still you and your issues that dominated your time and thoughts. I thought Earls portrayed this beautifully. As always his teen characters are realistic, believable and you just want to help them! Me personally, I wanted to take Monica Bloom home and look after her.
This book also gave me a reminder of how different life is now. While never stated, the music mentioned in the book suggests late 70's early 80's. A time when the worst thing smuggled into a high school disco was alcohol. No iphones, no internet, no Facebook. Harder in many ways, but a lot simpler in others. 

Challenges:  Aussie Author

48 Shades of Brown

Title: 48 Shades of Brown
Author: Nick Earls
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Book - library

From Goodreads: Australian teenager Dan Bancroft had a choice to make: go to Geneva with his parents for a year, or move into a house with his bass-playing aunt Jacq and her friend Naomi. He chose Jacq’s place, and his life will never be the same. This action-packed and laugh-out-loud-funny novel navigates Dan’s chaotic world of calculus, roommates, birds, and love.

What I thought: I make no secret of my love of Nick Earls. I think is one of the funniest, wittiest writers around. I also think he has a great knack for getting inside the head of his characters and making you feel every thing they do. While reading this, I could feel Dan's anxiety, tension, worry - every tiny bit of teenage angst you can imagine. The mother in me wanted to gather him in my arms and tell him it will all be OK, all he needs to do is be himself! Which in the end is the moral of this story - be yourself, because being someone else is too much hard work! It's great advice for any teenager.
Challenges: Library Challenge, Aussie Author Challenge

A Sad, Sad Day For Queensland Writers

I live in the state of Queensland in Australia. I haven't always, until four years ago I had lived my entire life in the capital of Australia - Canberra. (NOT Sydney!) I have never regretted my move to Qld. I love the weather and the lifestyle.

 The place I am lucky enough to live.

Recently we had state elections which saw the Labor party defeated by the National Liberal Party for the first time in over 20 years. Our new Premier is a man called Campbell Newman, and yesterday, he announced the axing of the Premier's Literary Award. Yes our state is in debt, but this is a grand saving of around $250,000. As Nick Earls (a prominent Australian author) points out on his blog, this will reduce our debt by 0.00028%. Zero point zero zero zero two eight percent. Unfortunately I believe the cost to our arts community will be much higher - a price I'm sure Queenslander's cannot afford.

Nick Earls blog post on it can be found here. Well worth the read.

The Thompson Gunner

Title: The Thompson Gunner
Author: Nick Earls
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Adult
Format: Book – Library

Synopsis: Meg is a successful Australian stand up comedian. However, things from her childhood in Northern Ireland are starting to surface and while on the surface she looks like she is still in control, the reality is things beyond her control are making her ask questions she's avoided for years. But eventually the past need to be faced. The question is, will it save her, or break her completely?

What I thought: I struggled to get inot this, but by the end I was engrossed. This is different from most of Earls stuff to date. Darker, a more serious topic and he pulled it off with class. I didn't pick the end. It was obvious something had happened in Northern Ireland, but I didn't think it was that!
The story jumps between times and places but it's easy to follow - especially the bits in Northern Ireland during Meg's childhood. The other two settings are only weeks apart but were easily distinguished by the weather! Canada in winter and Perth in summer. Once again, Earls characters are easy to identify with and like. They have their flaws, making them believable and likeable.

Recommended for: people who have enjoy other works of Nick Earls

Challenges: 100+ Challenge, 

Making Laws for Clouds

Title: Making Laws for Clouds
Author: Nick Earls
Genre: Fiction
Audience: Young Adult
Format: Book - Library

Synopsis: Kane is 18 and just trying to make his way in life. His family is not traditional and Kane is working hard to support his mum and younger brother. And Tannika, well she has potential to make it a brilliant summer, but life is never that easy. Can it still be the best summer of Kane's life?

What I thought: I enjoyed this. Earls is so good at taking everyday characters and lettng you see what makes them special. In so many ways Kane is a normal 18 year old , but his family makes it hard for him to be totally normal. A mother who drinks and often seems to struggle to cope, and a younger brother who can be cared of his own shadow means Kane has to be the one whose responsible - and he does it brilliantly. His relationship with Tannika isn't smooth sailing, but it's not tortured and overdrawn. All in all, another quality Earls work.

Recommended for: those who like a bit of angst in their YA, but not have it dripping with it!
,
100+ Challenge, A-Z Challenge, For the Love of YA challenge, Aussie YA Challenge

World of Chickens

World of Chickens - Nick Earls

This is part of my ongoing quest to read all of Nick Earls books. This was his 6th book, his 5th adult book.

World of Chickens focuses on Phil and Frank who we came across several times in Earls' book of short stories, Headgames. Phil and Frank are working at Ron Todd's World of Chickens to earn money while doing degrees in medicine. Through out the book they meet some interesting people and have some funny and not so funny experiences.

I'm not sure what to say about this book. I enjoyed it although Frank's character just annoyed the hell out of me. It's a fun read, but not one you would have an indepth discussion about. It was fun. I'm looking forward to the next Earls book.

Perfect Skin

Perfect Skin by Nick Earls

The 5th book in my Nick Earls retrospective. Perfect Skin revisits Jon Marshall, who we first met in Bachelor Kisses. Jon is older, partner in a laser surgery practise and has a 6 month baby. No mother of the baby is apparent, although you know there must be one and you do eventually find out about her.

Perfect Skin contains one of my favourite Nick Earls moments. It involves a toilet and a cat. Personally, I find the whole episode hilarious, but I won't spoil it for anyone here!

Once again Earls shines a spotlight on a specific time in someone's life, takes events that are quite challenging and make it entertaining. I continue to see his style develop. The further I go into his books, the more serious he becomes, yet he remains incredibly readable and enjoyable.

Headgames

Headgames by Nick Earls.

So I am slowly making my way through Nick Earls' back catalogue. This is book number four and is a collection of short stories. And can I just say, Nick Earls has some really twisted ideas!

Short enough to read in a 15-20 minute settings, Headgames covers everything from the start of uni, trying to talk to girls, dying, mental illness and some other stuff I'm not really sure about!  What I will say is that I don't think I will ever look at Creme de Menthe, travelators or unicorns the same way again!

Bachelor Kisses

Bachelor Kisses by Nick Earls is the third book in the list of Nick Earls books I plan to read. Once again, a lot of fun.

Jon is a resident at a small, not significant hospital. He's had a couple of relationships with some nurses there - none that ended well. He is currently doing a psych rotation. Psych, by the way, is seen as the cushiest rotation. "Psych. Finishing by five-thirty p.m. almost every day. Saturday mornings off every week. There is no other term like that." And he thinks he may have worked out a better way to treat depression.

Bachelor Kisses follows Jon's journey through a relationship with another nurse and his continuing exploration of his depression theory. The whole time he is worried the theory is about to be shot down in flames - something he has mixed feelings about. Mind you, he has mixed feelings about the nurse as well!

This book is a fun, easy read. It doesn't answer any of life's great questions, but it doesn't pose any either. I'm enjoying my journey through Earls' backlist and look forward to the next book.

Oh, I did learn one thing from Bachelor Kisses - Nick Earls trained as a doctor! The layout of the hospital he uses is "not unlike that of a hospital where [he] did [his] residency" and he "was a co-researcher on a melatonin project not unlike that outlined in the novel'  And I was wondering if he actually knew what he was talking about as I read the book. Obviously he did!

After January

 

After January by Nick Earls  

The second in my reading of Nick Earls' backlist. While this was published the same year as Zigzag Street, it was actually the first book he wrote.

From Goodreads

Alex Delaney is waiting for the beginning of the rest of his life. Marking time till his tertiary offer, he's not expecting much, just the usual holiday in Caloundra. So he's not prepared for the girl with the nose-ring who cuts past him on a wave and draws him into a new way of looking at himself and the world.

After January is basically a coming of age story. While it was nothing that set the world on fire, I found it to be really well written, the characters believable and the story flowed. What I really liked about this book was the lack of overdone teenage angst! I often find with books aimed at a teenage audience the angst is way overdone! Alex was unsure about approaching the girl, but he did and managed to do it without embarrassing himself too much, there was no great misunderstanding that could easily be resolved if they just bothered to ask a question. At it's most basic level, After January is about two people meeting, getting to know each other and expliring how they fit into each others worlds and lives.

ZigZag Street

Zigzag Street - Nick Earls

From Nick Earl's Website, Sunny Garden

Richard Derrington is twenty-eight and single. More single than he'd like to be. More single than he'd expected to be, and not coping well. Since Anna trashed him six months ago he's been trying to find his way again. He's doing his job badly, playing tennis badly, stalled at the start of renovating and wondering when things are going to change.
Zigzag Street covers six weeks of Richard's life in the house his grandparents built at Brisbane's Red Hill. Six weeks of rumination, chaos, poor judgement, interpersonal clumsiness and, eventually, hope, as he stumbles from one incident to another.
Richard's trying to be a nineties man, longing to be desirable, searching for calm, but things are only getting more out of control. Zigzag Street is his story.

Every now and then I come across an author that I decide to read the whole back catalogue of. At the moment, one of those authors is Australia's Nick Earls. I first came across Earls' writing as a teacher librarian and the stuff he had written for young adults. I found him to be fresh, funny and engaging. I have read a few of his books before, but his first book - Zigzag Street - is one I haven't read before.

I enjoyed Zigzag street, although when my husband asked me what it was about, I did find it hard to come up with an answer! What I really find fascinating is being able to identify certain Brisbane landmarks and suburbs as I read. Richard Derrington lives in Red Hill, I have friends who use to live there! Someone else lives in West End, I was lost in West End only 2 weeks ago!!
Having read The True Story of Butterfish recently, I can see how Earls' and his writing have developed. His characters are older, not necessarily wiser! His writing style is smoother, but  still highly entertaining. I'm looking forward to read more of his stuff.

From January 7

Every Secret Thing by Marie Munkara.

I'm reading this for book club. Only pages in and it has already made me laugh out loud several times (can be embarrassing on the ferry!) A friend who has read it already told me I will cry as well. This is the story of a catholic mission in the Northern Territory and their often vain attempts to convert the local bush mob. My favourite part so far is when a child asks the bishop this question about the serpent in the garden of Eden.

"But why did Eve eat the apple? Wouldn't the snake have tasted better?" queried Jeremiah
"And why aren't there any black angels? Why are they always white?" asked another.
"And if God made the world, then who made God?"
"And why is his name dog backwards?"
His Most Anxious, head spinning from this onslaught, looked to Sister for assistance. But Sister, harbouring a long-held contempt for his Most Sleazy and having borne the brunt of similar questioning herself, continued to clean up her desk and ignored him.
"Er, well, the snake might have been poisonous, " he proffered.
"Poison snakes don't clomb trees!" Ruth flung back amid murmers of assent from the rest of the class.
"Well how do you know that it lived in a tree?"
"Look here," said Cecilia, showing him their text with a beautifully illustrated depiction of Adam and Eve being shamefully ousted from the Garden of Eden while the snake leered at their retreating backs from a nearby bush. 


I must warn you (and it's most probably fairly obvious from the above passage) the book is not exactly complimentary to the Catholic chuch.


I have also managed to squeeze in another book.

 

 The True Story of Butterfish by Nick Earls. 

I first came across Nick Earls in my role as a teacher librarian and his young adult books. Very rarely have I found a young adult author whose adult books are just as good. I'm fairly sure it was a passage from Bachelor Kisses that had me laughing so hard I could hardly breath. Butterfish is the story of one half of once highly successful band and his return to Brisbane and a "normal" existence. It was hard not to draw parallels between Butterfish (the name of the band) and Savage Garden. One band member very out there and appearing to love the hype, the other more reserved and wanting to stay in the background. Two hugely successful albums, followed by a band break up. Earls himself acknowledges the similarities, but assures us that's where it ends. Hmm, think I may have to add Nick Earls to my list of authors to read all of!