Review: Secret Lies by Amy Dunne

Author: Amy Dunne Website
Published: 16 December 2013 (Bold Stroke Books)
Format: Kindle e-book (ARC)
Pages: 264
Buy the paperback: Amazon|BookDepository


Source: Received free copy from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Would you face your biggest fear, to save the one you love?

Nicola Jackson escapes from her abuser, only to realize she has no one to turn to and nowhere to go. In a twist of fate, she accidentally bumps into Jenny O’Connor, the most popular girl at school. They strike up an unlikely friendship. As their trust in each other develops, they share their darkest secrets, and their relationship blossoms into a secret romance.

Jenny loves Nicola, but she is fearful that if their secret relationship is discovered, she might lose her family, friends, and her seemingly perfect life.
Nicola confronts her abuser and blackmails him to leave for good, but things go terrifyingly wrong. Jenny is left with a life-changing dilemma: should she face her fear and accept who she is, or let Nicola take the blame and pretend their relationship never happened? 

My Review:
When the author approached me about reviewing this book I was really excited by the sound of it, and I am always on the lookout for more LBGTQ YA fiction. Secret Lies follows teenagers Jenny and Nicola who develop a close relationship after Nicola moves in with Jenny to escape her mother's abusive boyfriend.

Firstly this book is an intense read. The book deals with self-harm, alcohol and drugs, sex, physical and psychological abuse. Whilst it's not a light and fluffy read I think the author has done an incredible job at tackling these difficult topics. I could really sympathise with Jenny's battle with self-harm and seeing her in therapy was a great way to get inside her head and understand what she's thinking. Nicola's home situation was just heart-breaking and had me incredibly emotional throughout the book. She's been through some much and I really came to fear for her.

Whilst Secret Lies deals with all these traumas, the central relationship is something that is an incredibly positive experience for both girls and that really help lift the mood. I absolutely adored their relationship and the way it develops. They have this amazing chemistry but you get the slow burn as they come to terms with their feelings for each other. There are a few obstacles with Jenny coming from a very catholic family and neither girl having any experience but those hurdles just made you root for them even more. I was jumping up and down when they finally get together.

Both the girls are at a time in their life where they're discovering their sexuality and I liked how you got to explore those fears they have. There's a really touching scene where Nicola starts Googling everything she can about lesbianism and orders books and DVDs just to reach out and find out more about who she is. It makes you realise why books like Secret Lies are so important because this is the reality for so many teens yet it's vastly underrepresented. I hope this book will reach a wide range of audiences because it's a wonderful story, regardless of the sex of the two main characters.

As well as the central relationship, Secret Lies sums up pretty well what it's like to be a teenager living with peer pressure and stress. Jenny particularly goes through a lot of that, feeling the pressure to live up to her older sister's example and trying to live up to this reputation she's developed at school for being experienced and confident with boys, despite the fact she's not at all comfortable with it. The title also brings into play the sneaking around you do at that age and how hiding things about yourself for fear of the repercussions can be a reality.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. I think the only thing that let it down for me was that the writing was a bit over-descriptive. I would find myself skimming large chunks of texts just to get past what colour everything was and find the action. The book alternated from Nicola and Jenny's POV which was generally effective, but sometimes I found the voices merging and would have to double check whose perspective I was reading from. I managed to stay engaged with the story, though, and the plot and drama sucked me in enough to put those things aside. Secret Lies is definitely a book I'll be recommending in future for those looking for a really good love story to root for.

Rating: 4*
Books like this: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan, Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

Review: Undone by Cat Clarke

Undone by Cat Clarke

Author: Cat Clarke Website|Twitter
Published: 31 January 2013 (Quercus)
Format: Paperback
Pages: 502
Amazon: Paperback|Kindle
Waterstone's: Paperback|e-book
Book Depository: Paperback

Source: Won

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
Jem Halliday is in love with her gay best friend. Not exactly ideal, but she's learning to live with it.

Then the unspeakable happens. Kai is outed online ... and he kills himself.

Jem knows nothing she can say or do will bring him back. But she wants to know who was responsible. And she wants to take them down. 

My Review:
I really enjoyed Entangled by Cat Clarke which I read a few months ago, so I was super excited when I won a copy of this book! Undone follows Jem Halliday whose best friend Kai has just commited suicide after being outed as gay in a video posted online. 

Firstly I have to praise Clarke for writing such instantly recognisable characters. Everyone in this book was so true to life and I think she has British secondary school experiences absolutely spot on. We live in a world where teens sneak out, drink and have sex and Undone doesn't attempt to sugar coat that fact, for which I am so relieved to see.

This book also covers some pretty hardhitting issues and does it with the perfect balance of honesty and sensitivity. What happens to Kai is shocking, but suicide is definitely an issue that needs to be talked about openly. Undone also highlights the battle people like Kai face when faced with being open about their sexuality. It was just heartbreaking read Jem talk about her hopes for a world where sexuality isn't something that people are judged for and bullied because of.

On to the plot itself! I loved the way Undone was written with the story alternating between the present were Kai has died and the past where we see the build up to his death. My favourite part was the letters from Kai which were interspersed throughout the book. It meant that we got to know (and fall in love with!) Kai as a character by hearing his voice and living his story in his own words despite the fact he isn't present in Jem's life anymore. He was such a brilliant character and someone I think everyone would want to have as a friend, which is what makes this book all the more heartbreaking.

The majority of the story revolves around Jem's plot to get revenge for Kai's death and target the people behind it. I was torn at times over what I thought of Jem's actions. I never really managed to connect with her as a character. Whilst I was completely sympathetic to her situation, I sometimes struggled to get inside her head and understand why she thinks the things she does. For example, she talks a lot about hating life (even before Kai's death) and in particular hating her parents and I never quite understood why she felt that way. It made her come across as more stroppy than troubled at times.

Aside from that, I was completely gripped to Jem's story and the twists and turns that accompany it. It was really fascinating seeing her become this completely different person as she works at getting close to the popular kids by choosing to act like them.She develops and changes so much throughout the story and although I didn't always agree with her actions (and there were several uncomfortable moments) it made for an addictive and intense plot.

Where this book really blew me away was the ending. I couldn't stop reading the last few hundred pages and after I'd finished I felt like I needed my shattered heart piecing back together! I went on such a rollercoaster ride emotionally reading Undone. I'll definitely be checking out Cat Clarke's future books because this was another phenomenally written story full of powerful messages and fascinating characters that shook me up and broke me down!

Rating: 4*
What to read next: Entangled by Cat Clarke, Torn by Cat Clarke
Books like this: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Goodreads page

Author: John Green and David Levithan. JG: Website, Twitter DL: Website, Twitter
Published: 5 April 2011 (Puffin)
Pages: 336
Amazon: paperback|Kindle
Waterstone's: paperback
Book Depository: paperback

Source: Borrowed from library.

Plot Summary (from Goodreads):
One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.
Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them both legions of faithful fans.
My Review:
I'm working my way through John Green's back catalogue so this one was next on my list! I haven't read anything by David Levithan so I was interested to see what I thought of this collaboration. The story is based around two boys with the same name: Will Grayson. When they end up meeting completely by chance, their two worlds collide and friendships and relationships are built.

This book alternates chapters between each Will Grayson, as their lives start out completely separate, miles apart and somehow end up merging together. There's a great contrast between the both the characters, and the way each chapter is written, as the two authors each write one of the Will Graysons. My niggle with this way of doing it was than I pretty quickly found myself enjoying one of the writers' chapters more. David Levithan's chapters were a lot more unique, written without capital letters and incorporating IM conversations etc. and I just found myself looking forward to those chapters whilst reading the others.

I could tell which author wrote each chapter pretty much straight away because John Green has a very distinctive style. I think after reading a few of his books I've decided that I'm never quite going to enjoy anything as much as I did The Fault in Our Stars. I just have this problem that the characters are great, funny, and interesting but they don't do enough to really engage me. I just wish there was a little more action or something to grab me. I did totally love Tiny, though, who was John Green's Will Grayson's best friend. He was absolutely genius! He provided some hilarious moments than had me sniggering throughout.

The book deals with mental health and sexuality in a brilliant sort of everyday way; highlighting the issues but not dwelling on them or exploiting them. I loved that it was a book with a gay main character, rather than a background character, too. Overall there's some great moments of friendship and an insight into the drama of teenage relationships.

I really struggled to rate this book. I just felt it was let down a little by the first Will Grayson. I didn't much care for him, and as he narrates half of the book it began to drag a little for me. If you love John Green's other books then I don't doubt you'll love this one, because it feels very John Green. It definitely makes me want to go and look up more by David Levithan as well. Because I had a few niggles I'll give it 3*s, which is probably more like a 3 1/2.

Rating: 3*
What to read next: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.
Books like this: Paper Towns by John Green, An Abundance of Katherines by John Green.