Are You Seeing Me? - Darren Groth

Are You Seeing Me? - Darren Groth
Grade: YA
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This road trip will have earth-shattering consequences . . .

Twins Justine and Perry are about to embark on the road trip of a lifetime in the Pacific Northwest.

It's been a year since they watched their dad lose his battle with cancer. Now, at only nineteen, Justine is the sole carer for her disabled brother. But with Perry having been accepted into an assisted-living residence, their reliance on each other is set to shift. Before they go their separate ways, they're seeking to create the perfect memory.

For Perry, the trip is a glorious celebration of his favourite things: mythical sea monsters, Jackie Chan movies and the study of earthquakes.

For Justine, it's a chance to reconcile the decision to ‘free' her twin, to see who she is without her boyfriend, Marc – and to offer their mother the chance to atone for past wrongs.

But the instability that has shaped their lives will not subside, and the seismic event that Perry forewarned threatens to reduce their worlds to rubble . . .

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When I started this book I didn’t know much about it, other than that the main characters were twins - one with a brain condition - and that there was a review in the paper that recommended the story to Melina Marchetta fans. I was already sold. Throw around comparisons to my favourite Aussie YA author and I’m pretty much guaranteed to pick the book up. But even without that comparison, I would have loved this book. The powerful, emotional pull of siblings supporting each other through thick and thin, the fun adventure of exploring a new landscape, and the throw-backs to the past and the speculation of the future. This is what a contemporary YA novel is supposed to be – spot on writing and storytelling.

Are You See Me? is a story about the final adventure between two twins before epic changes fall on their lives. A trip to find a mystical creature, visit the grave site of Bruce Lee and the discovery heroes in unlikely places. It is a journey of discovering who has you back, always; and finding out who you are on your own too.

I have this thing about Twin novels. I seem to be reading a few of them lately. I don’t know if it’s a new trend, or I just haven’t noticed them in the past, but they keep popping up on my radar and I feel a weird connection to them before opening because of my own twin status. It was harder to relate to this twin pairing though, because I have no brothers! The whole male-female concept is a tad foreign to me. But I loved this pairing.

Justine and Perry are 19 year old twins who have faced upheavals and struggles their entire lives, with one constant: each other. No matter what life has thrown their way, they help each other stand strong. This alone would have made me love them, but add in the fact that this is their last trip together before more life changing events and it makes every scene seem more precious. Perry has a brain condition, a disability that makes him anxious and upset around new people and situations. But don't let that sway any of your thoughts, because this teenage boy proves to be more capable, caring and selfless than any other character in this book. The way Groth captures his abilities and feelings is incredible and makes you want to jump through the pages and give him big hugs (although, make sure you ask first, because a random hug from a stranger might make Perry upset!)

I love books about siblings – there’s something fantastic about knowing you have someone to count on, and when an author portrays that to a T, I find myself loving the book more than I thought possible. Are You Seeing Me? is that sort of book. One of the main themes throughout this book was the love that can be found through your sibling. Justine tries so hard to make this trip a final fun journey for Perry before he moves into a care facility – something she doesn’t want him to do, but he chose this change for their lives – because she wants him to have a lasting memory of their time together. While on the flip side, Perry is trying just as hard to show Justine that she can be free of his extra trouble making – even though he really doesn’t want to leave her, he just wants to show her she doesn’t need to be tied to him, and if it means moving into a home away from Justine, he’ll do it. Because he loves her.

As a reader, we get to see both sides of this through the split POV sections of the book. For me, this made me think of a cross between Jennifer Brown’s Perfect Escape (with the road-trip-with-the-OCD-brother) and Marcus Sedgwick’s She Is Not Invisible (with the blind-girl-showing-she’s-not-an-invalid). But this was better, because we you got see both sides right there, not just the ‘normal’ or ‘disabled’ side alone. I loved being in both Justine and Perry’s minds. And as a bonus, we get a look at their childhood struggles and successes through sporadic journal entries from their late father. (Warning: these will make you cry!)

I think my only issue with this book was with Leonie – Justine and Perry’s mother. A mother who was fed up with not getting any attention from her loving husband – who was being the best dad to his twins – a mother who up and left when Perry and Justine were four; a mother who reached out only to her daughter, 12 years later, and who struggled to accept Perry’s challenges. This issue was not so much with how her character was presented, because it worked for the story; but oh how she frustrated me, wanting back into their lives after ditching them without contact for years and years. Perry and Justine are way more forgiving than I would have been. Maybe it’s because I have such fantastic parents though, I can’t understand that need for them to come back into my life since my own parents haven’t left; but I thought she was a real piece of work.

Are You Seeing Me? is an incredibly emotional read, and a powerful look at struggling siblings showing just how strong they are alone – but also how they’re even stronger knowing they’ve always got each other.

4.5/5 stars


Kim
(Also posted on Goodreads)

Empower - Jessica Shirvington

Empower (Violet Eden Chapters #5)

- Jessica Shirvington

Grade: YA
Rating: 5/5 stars

It has been two years since Violet Eden walked away from the city, her friends, her future and – most painfully – her soulmate, Lincoln. Part angel, part human, Violet is determined to stand by the promises she made to save the one she loves.

Living in the perpetual coldness of a broken soul she survives day to day as a Rogue Grigori in London. It has been more than a year since she felt Lincoln searching for her and Violet has learnt to focus on nothing more than the war against exiled angels. But when an unexpected visitor shows up at her door, the news he bears about someone she swore to protect leaves Violet with no choice. Even worse, she fears that this might all lead back to the night she tries hardest to forget. And what was taken without her permission.

Violet is going back to New York ... and she knows exactly who is going to be there. With Phoenix in her dreams and Lincoln in heart she knows it is only a matter of time before the final choice must be made.(Description from Date a Book.)

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I usually don’t review books when I haven’t reviewed the rest in the series – it makes me feel like I’m not giving viewers the chance to see my entire thoughts; but there is absolutely no way I can’t put down how much I loved this book!

If you’re a fan of the series, you would know that the fourth book – Endless – had an incredibly emotional and shocking ending. I spent half the book in tears and desperate to find out more. Well, Empower brings that and more. Lines were crossed in the past, and in this book, we’re learning to deal with the fall out.

I’ve always loved Violet, she had her moments – it’s hard not to get frustrated at characters sometimes as they make mistakes and grow – but I’ve always loved how determined she is to be her own person. She’s had to deal with a lot of responsibilities, and a destiny she’s been thrown into, but has had an incredible support crew she has behind her. I loved seeing that return in Empower, but also loved watching her accept that she was not alone in her fight to save the world.

For me, one of the most important parts of the book is choice – not only because of the tagline; it’s more than just that. Fans are going to think it’s the ‘final’ choice between Lincoln and Phoenix, but Violet picked Lincoln ages ago: mind, body and spirit – it’s always been about Lincoln. Just like the final choice will always be about Violet’s Grigori role: who she wants to be and where she fits into this world. She’ll never be able to just slide into the world, she has to have a purpose, so Empower is all about finally finding her ultimate place. And I loved watching Violet get there. She doesn’t let others determine her position. She’s a very strong character in that regard.

With how Endless left off, there was always going to be questions regarding Violet’s friends. I think I was more shocked by their acceptance of it all. With the exception of one character, who I’m not sure we can classify as just a ‘friend’; not one of them showed any frustrations at Violet’s choices. I was honestly expecting just one to go: “Hey, Vi. Glad you’re okay, but I haven’t quite forgiven you for running off yet.” – Or maybe that’s just my own feelings taking over. Violet is incredibly lucky with her relationships!

One of the things I was dying to see unfold was the romance. As a very vocal Team Lincoln fan, I was extremely close to willing myself into the book so I could lock Violet and Linc in the same room and wait for them to work out their differences. There were some lines, scenes and situations that just made me melt. These two are one of my top YA It-Couples. I was a very happy Kim!

There is so much I’d love to gush about this book: the rogue involvement, seeing favourite characters, exploring new locations – but I think I’ll skip to the danger: a new exile evil who is fighting for the end of the world. It’s strange, with Lilith they had a plan and a definite way of destroying her, but in Empower I honestly had no idea if they’d make it out alive. It was darker, more dangerous and involved more Grigori and exiles than you could possibly image. The book was very action-packed – I loved it! A lot happened towards the end with so few pages to go, but I think what I loved most was that the questions fan would be most vocal about were wrapped up – but all without being too fairytale-like. I felt that we were left wondering what the future will be like, but only because I didn’t want to let the characters go. There was enough of an ending to be satisfied. For Violet, Lincoln and the rest, life is never going to be simple and there’s no way to predict what could come next; but we get enough to feel complete.

I have enjoyed this series so much. The ups and downs, the emotion, friendship and growth for all characters. It will forever be a favourite!

5/5 stars

Kim
(Also posted on Goodreads)

Song in the Dark - Christine Howe

Song in the Dark - Christine Howe
Grade: YA
Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Where do you end up when you have nowhere to go, and no one to turn to?

Paul isn't thinking clearly. After destroying a series of relationships – with his friends, his flatmates, his mum – he finally hurts the one person he cares about most of all. And then he runs away.

An extraordinary and heartrending story of love, betrayal, addiction and hope. (Description from Goodreads)
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If you picked up this book thinking it would be a light, contemporary read, you'll be disappointed. Song in the Dark is a gritty and confronting read that details the downward spiral of a troubled Australian boy and it's a bit tricky to deal with at times.

I went into this story thinking I was going to get something a lot different to what I received. The blurb doesn't give you a lot to go off, but I was definitely thinking this would be a story of self discovery and making something better of yourself. The main character, Paul, struggles to be more than he can be. The drug addiction, lack of money, and lack of a strong family and friend support group makes his troubles difficult to overcome; and when he disappoints his only loving family member - his Grandmother - he runs. I had mixed feelings about Paul. I wanted to feel sorry for him for having such a screwed up life, but I had no sympathy with all the drug taking and stealing. I feel like he didn't progress much as a character for the majority of the book: feeling sorry for himself and failing to commit to, and accept, help from anyone. It took a very long time for him to get anywhere in the story, and I don't feel like we really got a conclusion for his eventual efforts.

I liked seeing the flash back scenes we got from Paul, as well as from his grandmother Hetty, who shared the narration perspective for some the novel. I had this strong desire to find something positive in Paul's life and these scenes showed that his Grandmother was that something. It did make it hard to accept the present Paul a bit, because he had someone good in his life, but I enjoyed seeing these scenes.

The novel is very descriptive, but not always for the better. At first I thought Paul's actions, whether the drug taking, violent sicknesses or insane struggles, were powerful to read. To get such a strong reaction from a reader, the disgust at the thought of someone finding maggots in recently cooked food and preparing the next hit of a drug, the writing had to bring out more than just shallow emotions. It so jarring and commanding. But unfortunately it started to get a bit overdone. I wanted something more than the disgust. After seeing it at the start, and understanding that was happening, it needed to be left behind. But we're overloaded with these strong and detailed descriptions of Paul's dark and gritty life, that it became a bit too much for me.

I enjoyed seeing the rehab side of the story, because it brought about a change and progress. I felt that the ending was a bit uncertain, but at least things were looking up after the tough and slow process of the majority of the book.

2.5/5 stars

Kim
(Originally posted on Goodreads)

Thank you Penguin Australia for a review copy of this book.