FACTS

Title: No hope for Gomez!
Author: Graham Parke
First published: January 2010
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Pages: 194

THE SYNOPSIS

It’s the age-old tale: Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl already has a stalker. Boy becomes her stalker-stalker.

We’ve seen it all before, many times, but this time it’s different. If only slightly. When Gomez Porter becomes a test subject in an experimental drug trial, he is asked to keep track of any strange experiences through a blog. What Gomez isn’t ready for, is so many of his experiences suddenly seeming strange; the antiques dealer trying to buy his old tax papers, the phone-sex salesman who hounds him day and night, the super sexy research assistant who falls for him but is unable to express herself in terms outside the realm of science. But when one of the trial participants turns up dead and another goes missing, Gomez begins to fear for his life. No longer sure who he can trust and which of his experiences are real and which merely drug induced delusions, he decides it’s time to go underground and work out a devious plan.

THE STORY

I was told by the author that this was a weird book. I love weird books, so my hopes were high when I started reading this one. I was expecting humorous and different, and this book absolutely delivered!

This book is so many things: it’s a love story, it’s a murder mystery, but foremost it’s Gomez’s blog. The story starts out as one would expect: Gomez is blogging about his everyday life. Nothing much happens at work, he doesn’t meet many people and his only routine is work and visiting the doctors office where he’s participating in a drug trial. But then he decides he likes Dr. Hardgrove, the lab assistant, and the story suddenly becomes twisted and absurd (and in this case, that is a good thing).

As a policeman and a participant of the drug trial disapear and show up dead, Gomez is quickly becoming a private detective, trying to solve the mysteries. He becomes paranoid; can he trust that Dr. Hardgrove has nothing to do with the deaths? Why is his neighbour making all these loud noices in the middle of the night? Who is the strange man stalking his love interest? And who is the man showing up in his store wanting to buy his old tax papers?

Because of it’s many absurdities, this book is hilarious. I honestly laughed all the way through it, all the way from the very first page The language was excellent; easy to read, intellectual and a bit quirky. I really felt that the writing style matched Gomez’ personality perfectly.

THE CHARACTERS

What makes this story amazing is the amount of exceptionally strange characters. They are what I remember best about this book, and I think they’ll stick with me for years to come. Even though the book is short, the characters sneaked their way into my mind and now I can’t stop thinking about them.

Gomez is obviously the main character. Since this book is written as his blog, I got a pretty “good” insight into his personality and life in general. The problem is; I don’t know if Gomez is telling the truth. He is in a drug trial, he appears to be a bit schizophrenic and paranoid, and he is generally a bit unusual (or should I say; he’s an original). He’s a funny character, but I don’t think he means to be funny.

Hicks is Gomez’s co-worker. He is very particular about keeping to habits and sticking to what he knows. Because he can’t really do anything useful, he spends his day sweeping the floors in the antique store where he and Gomez work. I haven’t given Hicks much more thought, but I’m starting to think he might represent something more in this story.

Warren is an author and Gomez’s neighbour. Gomez is annoyed with Warren, but I’m not 100% sure why… He comes off as nice in the beginning, but as the story envolves he turns more and more annoying. For example: he won’t leave Gomez alone and he is very insistent about getting Gomezs’ opinions on his novels. I’m not sure if this is the real Warren, or if we see him through Gomez’s twisted mind.

I guess I also have to mention the man in costumes. He shows up in Gomez’s store wearing all sorts of weird clothing. He wants to buy Gomez’s old tax papers. Don’t even ask me what I think he represents, ’cause I have no idea! I’m still thinking about him and trying to figure him out.

TO SUM IT ALL UP

If you are searching for a humorous, absurd, weird story, then this book is for you. I read it in two sittings, so it’s a super quick read. The fact that it’s written in blog posts makes this book unusual (in a good way) and interesting. It’s a lovely mix of all things fun!

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You can also check out my video review here:

For a limited time you can get the sequel to No hope for Gomez! for free. Check out Grahams blog for directions.

FACTS

Title: Please ignore Vera Dietz
Author: A.S. King
First published: 2010
Publisher (my edition) : Ember
Pages: 326

THE SYNOPSIS

Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything. So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone–the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?

THE STORY

Vera Dietz is a 18-years old girl living in a small town with her father. Her best friend was Charlie, the neighbour boy, but he’s dead – very dead. Vera still sees him sometimes, but no one can know that. She tries to escape Charlie by drinking, but that only makes him show up more often. Charlie wants her to tell everyone the truth about his death. She was the only one who saw, and only she can reveal the truth.

***

I started this book knowing nothing about the story. I read it simply because it was the Michael L. Printz Honor Book of 2011, and those books are usually the greatest YA contemporary books there is. Let me tell you: I was not disappointed with this read.

Please ignore Vera Dietz is a very unusual book in the term that it stands out from all the other YA books. Chapters are told from different peoples point of view (mainly Vera, but also Vera’s father, Charlie; the dead kid and the pagoda – a place in Vera’s town). The story is also told from the past and present time. The book feels special, but I can’t quite put my finger on what it is that makes me feel that way. There’s just something about this books atmosphere that drew me into it.

The ending dissapointed be a tiny bit. I was expecting more of a revealing end to Vera’s secret, but that didn’t happen. Instead the ending worked more as a sum up to the story.

Oh! And the writing was excellent! 

 THE CHARACTERS

I don’t know where to start to describe Vera Dietz. She is probably one of the strongest characters I have met in a very, very long time. Sure, she is lonely and valnurable, she’s made a few mistakes in her life, but she is such an independent, strong, humoristic, smart, polite and loving girl. I felt like I got inside her head, and I understood her even though I can’t relate to her problems. How she interacts with and thinks about other people is also worth mentioning. Even though she has a lot of problems herself, Vera seems to put others first and work hard on not to hurt them.

Charlie, the dead kid, bugged me. He is a quirky boy who seems nice at first, and he loves Vera a lot, but still he manages to act like a complete a** towards her. I couldn’t understand why Vera is his best friend, but then again they grew up together and had always had each other. Charlie comes from a violent family, and throughout the book he changes from being the weird, unusual kid that really don’t care about anything into a more aggressive boy who starts rebeling against anything nice in his life. He chose the wrong path in life, and sadly that leads him to his death.

I didnt’t notice until the end how strong a character Vera’s father is in this book. He comes off as a pathetic, sad person at first, but as he gets a chance to explain his actions he becomes a very likable character.

TO SUM IT ALL UP

This is an intelligent and special contemporary YA book that surprised me with it’s powerful characters and storyline. It basically moved me…a lot. If you like Looking for Alaska, 13 reasons why and The perks of being a wallflower you HAVE to read this book. It suits both girls and boys age 14 and up.

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Love ♥

FACTS

Title: The Spook’s Apprentice (UK) / The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch (US)
Author: Joseph Delaney
First published: 2004
Publisher (my edition): Random House
Pages: 338
Series: The Wardstone Chronicles (#1)

THE SYNOPSIS

Someone has to stand against the dark. And you’re the only one who can.’ For years, the local Spook has been keeping the County safe from evil. Now his time is coming to an end, but who will take over? Many apprentices have tried …Some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive. Just one boy is left. Thomas Ward. He is the last hope. But does he stand a chance against Mother Malkin, the most dangerous witch in the County?

THE STORY

This is a spooky middle-grade novel about Thomas Ward, a 13-years old boy who is in training to become the next spook. To become a spook you must be brave, smart and independent (spooks are not known to have many friends). You see…a spooks job is to keep the county safe from ghosts and ghasts, witches, boggarts and all other scary creatures. One should think having such a job would make you popular, but people are afraid of the spook. Who in their right mind would go after these scary creatures? And of course; there’s always a chance the spook will be possessed or be followed by evil spirits.

Thomas (called Tom) is not an ordinary apprentice. He is the seventh son of a seventh son, which is suppose to make him more powerful than other boys. He is also the son of a kind witch, so there’s talk about him having some powers on his own.

The trouble starts one day when Tom has been in the village to collect food. A gang of scary boys stop him and demand he gives them his food. Tom is uncertain and a bit afraid. Just as the boys are about to attack, a girl steps out from the woods. Her name is Alice, and she’s a witch (you can tell, ’cause she’s wearing pointy shoes). Alice makes the boys go away, and Tom now owes Alice a favour. But owing a witch a favour can be dangerous. Especially when you don’t know if the witch is good or bad, and especially if her grandmother, Mother Malkin, is the most powerful, bad witch there ever was!

***

I found this story very entertaining and not too over the top. Sometimes in books like these there can be too many monsters, too many things happening and the main character is often a bit too brave for his/her age. The story was fast-paced, there were many peaks (almost every chapter had its high-point) and the story was told in an exciting and easy enough language.

THE CHARACTERS

Even though this is a middle-grade book, I found that the characters were very well developed. Sometimes in these kinds of books, the characters can be very unpersonal without much insightfulness or determination.

The main character in this book, Tom, is uncertain about many things. He’s unsure if he’s fit to become a spook since he’s scared of ghosts and monsters. He’s not certain if he has inherited his mothers witch powers. And Tom is not at all certain he is independent enough to take on the hard decisions that The Spook keeps throwing at him. But Tom does have one thing: he knows he can’t move back home with his family, and so he needs to fight to keep the apprenticeship and become a spook. He develops throughout the story, and I’m sure he’ll keep developing throughout the book-series.

Alice is the witch Tom meets in the forest. She is quite a complex character to be a young teenage girl. She appears nice and helpful (sometimes), but she is also very tricky and does deceit Tom when he needs her the most. She is smart and knows too much dark magic, which makes The Spook doubt her. Alice doesn’t have much witch power yet, but when she grows up she can go either way – good or bad. The problem with Alice is she can’t be trusted, so the reader have to make up his or hers own mind wether or not to believe in her.

The other characters in this book come off as a little…how to say this…boring. Even The Spook, who is supposed to be a very strong, powerful and clever man, is a bit blah. The bad guys in this book (witches and boggarts) don’t survive long enough to develop a personality, which is OK, but I missed some more insight into Mother Malkins personality other than pure evil. I would also have liked to read more about Tom’s mother, the good witch. But perhaps these characters will develop more in the next books in the series.

TO SUM IT ALL UP

Whenever I’m in a bit of a reading slump, I tend to reach for middle-grade books like this one. They are easy-reads and often very entertaining (without having to think too much). This book was action-packed and imaginative. I thought the plot was new and fresh, and I didn’t feel like I had read this kind of story before.

The main-characters, as I see it, are Tom and Alice. I feel like this book would be better suited for boys since it is written through Toms point of view, but Alice’s appearance makes me think girls will enjoy it as well. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing more of Alice throughout the book series.

I would recommend this books to boys and girls (years 10-14) looking for an adventurous and fantastical book about magical creatures. It’s great for those who don’t like full-on fantasy, but like using their imagination and reading about things supernatural.

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