Review: CAN YOU SEE ME? by Ruth Gilligan **

When Alice arrives on campus amidst the ancient splendour of Cambridge University, she thinks she’s found her wonderland. Then one night something happens – one inexplicable act ruins everything and she finds herself alone. Alice will not admit defeat; having practically raised her two brothers single-handedly, she is good at being strong. Too good.
But soon her dark secret becomes too much and the cracks begin to show. Her weekly meetings with Flo, the stranger on the bench, become her lifeline. And try as she might to bury the dark truth of that awful night, she begins to realise that some things have to be faced up to.
It’s time for Alice to look at her broken reflection and start to put the pieces back together…

I bought this book (trade paperback even!) immediately after I heard about it months ago - it just sounded so good, just my kind of thing. I started reading it as soon as I could and I was rather impressed by the beginning, but then things just went downhill and I found myself struggling to finish it, which was completely unexpected. I don't think the book itself is to blame, I guess it just didn't strike a chord with me personally.

The plot started off well - I enjoyed reading about Alice's settling back into the Cambridge life for her second term and I found the descriptions of her Uni life rather interesting as my experience was quite different. But that's just the side plot whereas this book mostly revolves around the fact that Alice was raped and the effect this has on her life. Obviously, this is a very difficult topic to tackle and I appreciated that it wasn't sugarcoated at all. In fact, I thought the author did a good job portraying the internal struggle women have after being raped - doubting that they were raped, wondering if it was their fault, nightmares, feeling dirty, withdrawing from people, facing emotional breakdown etc. While I appreciate that, I still the plot didn't flow well - I somehow still found it boring? There was an explosive subject at the heart of the book, but the story failed to intrigue me somehow. I thought the Flo bit was rather silly and I wasn't too keen on the ending either - it was slightly confusing, but I didn't really dwell on it, I was just relieved that the novel was finally over.

I'm afraid I didn't really warm up to the characters either. Alice should be someone I should symphatize with, and I did at first, but then I somehow just found her more annoying than anything, as harsh as it sounds. I could understand why she acted the way she did, she wanted to remain strong as always etc., but I just couldn't relate to her. The side characters just all fell flat for me too and sadly I wasn't particularly intrigued by any of them.

The author has a great way with words and her writing is really lyrical at times, which is something that I appreciate and I know she'll be able to go a long way with it. However, I still can't say that the novel was incredibly well written, seeing how to me the plot didn't really flow nicely and I certainly wasn't keen on multiple narrators - every now and then, one of Alice's friends takes over the narration: sometimes it's her BFF Millie, then it's her friend Joey, a couple of times it's her ex Paddy etc. These narrators aren't marked by name or anything so you have to figure out yourself who's telling the story now, which isn't particularly difficult (although their narrative voices are quite similar), but sometimes it's still a bit confusing.

All in all, I had high expectations for this novel, but sadly they were not met. I knew what it would be about and I expected such a topic to inspire a very moving book, but unfortunately it all just fell a bit flat for me. I'm not saying the book was bad, as a matter of fact I think the author is very talented, especially given her youth, but I just really couldn't connect neither with the story nor with the characters. But wahey, at least the covers are pretty, right? Pictured above is the one I have (Irish trade paperback) and below are Irish paperback and the UK paperback respectively. Which one's your favourite?

overall rating:
plot: 2/5 | writing: 3/5 | characters: 2/5 | cover: 4/5

Review: I HEART NEW YORK by Lindsey Kelk **

"When you're running away from a broken heart, there's only one place to go...the summer debut of the year. Adjusting tiaras at the foot of the aisle, Angela and her best friend prepare for the wedding of the year. But events don't go as planned. And when a girl is in possession of a crumpled bridesmaid dress - and can't go home - New York (for the very first time) seems like an excellent idea. Angela's new friend Jenny Lopez gives Angela a whirlwind tour of the city that never sleeps, and a makeover. Who hasn't dreamed of starting afresh with a sassy New York wardrobe, a new haircut and a trip to the make-up counter? Before she knows it, the new Angela is getting over her broken heart by having dinner with two different boys. And, best of all, she gets to write about it in her fabulous new blog. But it's one thing telling readers all about your romantic dilemmas. It's another trying to figure them out for yourself! Warm, funny and unputdownable, I Heart New York is an unforgettable debut."

(summary)

Firstly, it should be clear that the blurb above praises the book far too much as it's hardly good, let alone great or unforgettable. It's cute but boring.

I guess what I liked most about this novel is that it is occassionally witty - but it only made me chuckle a couple of times and not laugh out loud so it should not even be compared to Sophie Kinsella as there really is no comparison whatsoever.
The opening scene of the book was the best, really quite funny and it also had potential, but then it all went downhill. It was all too perfect: a girl comes to NYC, finds BFFs immediately, two most gorgeous guys in town fall head over heels in love with her and her silly blog is a total win. And yep, that's pretty much all there is to the story. No drama, no dilemmas, no twists, nothing. Action is almost non-existant too and I felt the ending was rushed. Furthermore, I didn't like neither the main character nor the others; the men were just too perfect ... Basically, everyone was really one dimensional. There's "drama" at the end, but it's really uncalled for and resolved far too quickly. Oh and commas, argh, a bunch of them were either missing or put in a wrong place. I know that's silly, but I can't help judge a book by that too.

The book wasn't really horrible kind of bad, it's cute and all, but it's just not my cup of tea as it's just too damn simple. I'd recommend it if you like a really, really easy read - as the main character says (and I expect she's just echoing the author's words), her wish is to just write, nothing necessarily deep or meaningful, just something that will help escape from their every day troubles. I really don't want to sound mean as I'm glad that other people enjoyed the book (according to Amazon), but it just didn't work for me. Props to whoever designed the gorgeous cover as it really saved the book and I'm sure the book will sell.

overall rating: 2/5
plot: 2/5 | writing: 3/5 | characters: 2/5 | cover: 4/5

Review: POP TART by Kira Coplin & Julianne Kaye **

"She was America's sweetheart. Until the love affair ended with a bang! Young make-up artist Jackie Reilly has always dreamed of making it big in TinselTown, concealing the flaws of the rich and famous. Stuck in a rut with a crazy boss, she thinks her big break will never come - until she meets a girl who guarantees her life will never be the same again! 16-year-old Brooke Parker is bubbly, vivacious, charming - and about to become the world's most famous teenager. A pop singer on the verge of superstardom, Brooke instantly takes a shine to Jackie and draws her into a world of white-stretch limos, screaming fans and invitations to VIP events. But as Jackie quickly finds out, fame has its dark side. Forced to juggle the various egos of Brooke's entourage - from bitchy stylists to over-eager publicists and a manager that serves his own interests before all else - all preserving the golden girl image of brand Brooke. Caught in the tight grip of the P.R machine, Brooke starts to rebel, taking Jackie along for the ride. At first her bad girl antics are a blast, earning her even more column inches, but when her heavy partying brings Brooke's demons to the surface she begins to fall apart and soon, she is taking Jackie down with her. When Jackie is forced to learn the rules of showbusiness the hard way, her friendship with Brooke is put to the ultimate test - will she be yet another casualty of Brooke's increasing quest for fame? Or can she save herself - and Brooke?"

(summary)

This book promises so much, but sadly delivers so little. The plot is non-existant and boring and pointless, the characterization is very poor and I had a hard time understanding the motives for the characters' actions, it all seemed so random. I presume the authors were inspired by the rise and fall of Britney Spears (Brooke is refered to as the pop princess, dated a boyband member and cheated on him, was taken to hospital in the middle of the night etc.), but the book just doesn't deliver. There is no action and on the whole things just don't make sense.

I was also infuriated by the poor editing and a lack of commas in crucial places, namely when someone is being directly addressed! Here are just a few examples:
"Honestly Sheryl, it's fine." (p. 23)
"You're never going to believe this Jackie ..." (p. 23)
"Now remember ladies ..." (p. 37)
"All right ladies, just two more minutes ..." (p. 45)
"Take it easy killah." (p. 55)
"Hey Brooke," I said, suddenly worried. (p. 66)
"Don't worry girls." (p. 67)
The book is full of mistakes like that and I'd be willing to overlook that (sort of) if the book was any good, but this just added to my displeasure. I'd actually rate this book 1/5, but what I liked about it was the cover, the description and they way the characters talk, that kinda works, heh. Otherwise I really don't recommend it, but I can see how someone would be tempted into reading it like I was and I'd love to see what others make of it.

So you're probably thinking I'm crazy for expecting something decent from such an obviously shallow book, but it honestly had potential. I've read other similar books that were rather enjoyable and I particularly remember Hollywood Car Wash by Lori Culwell, which really delivered what it promised - a first-hand account of a life in Hollywood. I read it a long time ago (I have the old cover, it's being rejacketed now), but I know it's a story of a small town girl who stars in a very successful TV show and how she is forced to change into this girl people want to see. She has to change everything, from her name to her body (forced into plastic surgery) and she becomes a part of a power couple with a famous actor who is actually gay etc. - a lot of crazy stuff happens so you can't be surprised when this young star has trouble handling it all. Hollywood Car Wash is a great fictional account of the life that many young stars have probably had to experience to achieve fame. I'd rate it 5/5 and stronly recommend it!