Best books of 2015

So many books, so little time. Luckily, I did have time to read these 12 brilliant books, my favourites of the year...

Book review: Apple and Rain by Sarah Crossan

Good young adult fiction not only contains a great plot, relatable characters and is well written, it can also sometimes help young people come to terms with difficult or traumatic experiences.

Sarah Crossan's Apple and Rain, about a young girl called Apple whose mum abandoned her when she was younger, is one of those books that I think can help young people understand life-changing experiences. And it does that while telling a great story very well, without being preachy.

Apple lives with her grandmother, who is very, very protective. The young girl chafes at the bit at having to be collected from school, at not being able to go out with her friends, and at her gran's reluctance to talk about Apple's mum. So when Apple's mum returns, determined to have fun with her daughter, Apple jumps at the chance to leave her grandmother behind. It's only when Apple discovers she has a younger sister called Rain that she begins to realise her dreams of her mother's return might not all come true.

I've only ever read dystopian novels by Crossan before (Breathe and Resist), but she's adept at recreating the real world in print as she is at creating a whole new world. Apple and Rain feels hooked in reality, from its scenes at Apple's school to her interactions with friends and enemies, to the way Apple's emotions are conveyed. Crossan presents an Apple who, despite her young age, is complex and whose feelings are always treated by Crossan as legitimate. We never frown upon Apple for her reactions because they feel so realistic and so natural.

Book review: Resist by Sarah Crossan

Good dystopian fiction is hard to find, so it was with some relief I read Sarah Crossan's Breathe earlier this year, and its sequel Resist, recently released, didn't disappoint either.

In a world where all the greenery has been cut down, people live in the Pod, their oxygen determined by how rich and important they are, or not. Led to believe that no one can survive long in the Outlands, in Breathe rebel Alina led rich kid Quinn and poor girl Bea out into the world to try and find the Resistance.

Now, in Resist, the trio have been separated - Alina is with her cousin and other Resistance members heading to Sequoia, the only remaining rebel base. Quinn leaves Bea with the injured child Jazz while he searches for help, and tries to make his own way to Sequoia. And in the Pod, Quinn and Bea's peer Ronan realises the government he has trusted all his life, and that included his father, are instigating a massive cover up. As events come to a head, who will survive?

I loved Breathe because it was a dystopian novel that really focused on its characters, and Crossan keeps that focus in Resist. 

We see Alina, Bea and Quinn develop in this book. Quinn goes from privileged rich kid to fighter, Bea shows she is a survivor, and Alina's arrogance disappears some. 

And then we have Ronan. Breathe (my review here) didn't feature him much (if at all, I barely remember him), but through his chapters in Resist we learn he played a pivotal role in the final events of the first novel, a role that has woken him up and made him realise things he doesn't like about the world he lives in.

As Crossan opens more of the world to her characters, she does the same to us. I liked learning alongside the characters - it built up the tension and meant my judgements about what to do happened at exactly the same time as Alina, Quinn, Bea and Ronan's.

Resist added a new host of secondary characters to the world Crossan created in Breathe, some good, some not so good. There were few truly evil characters (a couple on each side) but the beauty of most of Crossan's characters is that they're shades of grey, which made them believable.

I said when I reviewed Breathe that comparisons to The Hunger Games would be inevitable, so here's one from me - the ending of Resist felt much more satisfying than the ending of The Hunger Games. But really, the two sets of novels are very different.

If you're looking to try some dystopian fiction, and want something character driven, go get Breathe and Resist.

How I got this book: Gift from a friend

A to Z bookish survey

Author you’ve read the most books from:
I read an absolute tonne of Baby-Sitters Club books when I was younger, and the same with Sweet Valley High, so either Ann M Martin or Francine Pascal. Probably the latter, since I read a lot of the Fearless series too.

Best sequel ever:
Ever? Ask me this in a week and I'll probably have a different answer, but for now I'll say Crown of Midnight (review here) by Sarah J. Maas.

Currently reading: 

The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer, Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi and Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich.

Drink of choice while reading:
Water, although I'm usually too caught up reading to drink anything.

E-reader or physical book?
Physical book, hands down.

Fictional character you probably would have actually dated in high school:
Difficult one, but probably Peeta from The Hunger Games.

Glad you gave this book a chance:
Gone Girl (review here) by Gillian Flynn. It sat on my shelf for ages and I didn't want to read it, despite the positive reviews, but I'm so glad I got over myself.

Hidden gem book:

Gentleman and Players by Joanne Harris.

Important moment in your reading life:
Discovering that book blogging is something I love doing, whether anyone's reading what I write or not.

Just finished:
The Book of Fires by Jane Borodale (review here).

Kinds of books you won’t read:
Nothing really. I'll give everything a try. Maybe zombie fiction, since I read one earlier this year and didn't like it.

Longest book you’ve read:
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, which clocks in at 944 pages.

Major book hangover because of:
A toss up between My Sister's Keeper by Jodie Picoult, which left me broken, and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, which left me stunned.

Number of bookcases you own:
Just the one massive one.

One book you have read multiple times:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Back to where it all began.

Preferred place to read:
My bed.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you’ve read: 

"Once upon a time" - four little words that signify hope and magic to come.

Reading regret:
Not exploring the online world of book bloggers sooner.

Series you started and need to finish(all books are out in series):
Fearless by Francine Pascal.

Three of your all-time favorite books:
Just three? We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (review here) and Matilda by Roald Dahl

Unapologetic fangirl for:
Nora Roberts. My go-to for comfort fiction.

Very excited for this release more than all the others:
Resist by Sarah Crossan, the sequel to Breathe (review here).

Worst bookish habit:
Buying/borrowing too many books.

X marks the spot: Start at the top left of your shelf and pick the 27th book:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.

Your latest book purchase: 

The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer.

ZZZ-snatcher book (last book that kept you up WAY late):
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

If you've done this survey, let me know in the comments.

Book review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Young adult fiction is enjoying a resurgence, thanks to the popularity of series like Twilight and The Hunger Games, but just because they're the big names doesn't mean there isn't other quality fiction out there.

I stumbled across Sarah Crossan's Breathe thanks to a publisher friend, and read the book in just a couple of sittings.

A dystopian novel, Breathe is set in a world where all trees and plant life has disappeared, and the lucky few live in Pods. Everyone else slowly suffocated to death. When the fundamental right to breathe has disappeared, where does that leave society?

In this world, like any other where society is split into haves and have-nots, there grows a rebel group. Among them is 16-year-old Alina, who is forced to escape the Pod when a friend of hers is seemingly killed by officials.

Alina manages to get out of the Pod with Quinn, a Premium who is infatuated with her, and Bea, his auxillary friend, who are going on a camping trip into the outside world. Armed with just a couple of days worth of oxygen each, Quinn and Bea soon find themselves introduced to a world they never knew existed.

Chapters alternate between Quinn, Bea and Alina's points of view, so we get to know all three characters quite well. The character I most liked was Bea, who was compassionate and kind, as well as being tough.

Alina and Quinn are both slightly selfish, and slightly clueless, and occasionally I found myself wanting to shake some sense into them both.

The world outside the Pod is well crafted, although we barely get to see the rebel stronghold, and secondary characters including Alina's cousin Silas, Quinn's father, and drifter Maude are rounded individuals. Rebel leader Petra is scary, although not quite as terrifying as her nine-year-old protege and surrogate daughter Jazz.

On the down side, I found the central love story of Breathe a little clumsily handled, and it was resolved far too quickly, and not in a very satisfactory manner. 

Comparisons to The Hunger Games will be inevitable, although it's difficult to say whether Alina or Quinn is Katniss, but Bea is definitely Peter. Breathe, bravely, doesn't have a happy ending, leaving readers fully prepped for its sequel, whereas The Hunger Games could be read as an isolated book. If I was going to pick a book to compare Breathe to, it would be Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden, a dystopian novel I read years and years ago. It was the first in a series, and I never got round to reading the others to find out what happened - I won't be making the same mistake with Breathe.