ARC - Zombie by J.R. Angelella

Zombie by J.R. Angelella
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Time Taken To Read - 6 *long* hours

Blurb From Goodreads

Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Barker is obsessed with zombie movies. He attends an all-boys Catholic High School where roving gangs in plaid make his days a living hell. His mother is an absentee pillhead, his older brother a self-diagnosed sex-addict, and his father an ex-Marine realtor who disappears night after night without explanation. Jeremy navigates it all with a code cobbled together from Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, Planet Terror, Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead:

• Avoid Contact
• Keep Quiet
• Forget the Past
• Lock-and-load
• Fight to Survive

The code is put to the test when he discovers in his father’s closet a bizarre homemade video of a man strapped to a bed, being prepped for some sort of surgical procedure. As Jeremy—troubled but ever-optimistic—attempts to trace the origin of the video, this remarkable debut moves from its sharp, precocious beginnings to a climax of almost unthinkable violence, testing him to the core.


My Review

I clearly thought with the title this was about zombies, there are references to zombie survival rules that Jeremy uses to survive his existence with the bullies at school, the shambles of his family life and every other situation he encounters. His mother is a pill popper, his brother is a sex addict and his father he suspects of being involved in something dark and dangerous as he disappears every night.

Oh dear this book was a struggle for me. Not only was the format only available to read on the computer which in itself was a nightmare (I have emailed the publisher about this), just about every line had a swear word or something crude. I have no problem reading bad language but this was just overkill, swearing for the sake of swearing. It was constantly following Jeremys life at school and the bullying and interaction with the other kids so teenage boys can and do swear but this was all the time.

Once you wade through all the bad language it is a tale of teenage angst, following a young boy through the trials and issues most teenage boys have likely experienced. The only thing I didn't mind was his zombie fixation and the snippets of tales about his favourite zombie movies. Maybe this will be a hit with teen boys as they might feel they can relate to the main character but I can't honestly say of all the readers I know (and thats a lot!) none of them would enjoy or relate to this. Had it not been a review book I would have given up a chapter or two in, 1/5 for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for providing me with a review copy, release date 5th of June 2012, published by Soho Press.

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ARR - What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children's Toys by Ira Nayman

What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children's Toys by Ira Nayman

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Time Taken To Read - Around a month, dipping in and out of it

Blurb From Goodreads

Without fear, favour or the faintest connection to a universe that makes sense, Alternate Reality News Service reporters strive to bring you the most interesting, informative or least expensive news from the multiverse. This new collection of science fiction journalism includes news articles about: -a world in which the best way to cure cancer may be to negotiate with individual diseased cells; -a project to collect, rebuild and reanimate the atoms that made up Albert Einstein's body (so far, they have most of his ankle ); -China avoiding a war with the United States (without firing a shot) by repossessing the American military in payment of the country's debt; -a woman suing General Motors for palimony, claiming that the corporation, legally a person, was the father of her child. This volume also contains a seven-part behind-the-scenes look at the Alternate Reality News Service called "The Weight of Information." What Were Once Miracles Are Now Children's Toys: because, now, more than ever, if you don't like this reality, choose another one Praise for the previous Alternate Reality News Service book, Alternate Reality Ain't What It Used To Be "T]his is a great little volume to leave lying in the bathroom. Or on the coffee table. Anywhere people might pick it up to leaf through. And if you do, you won't be able to stop at just one entry." - Charles de Lint, Books To Look For, Fantasy and Science Fiction "Thanks for the terrific book I love it." - Andrei Codrescu, author of The Posthuman Dada Guide: Tzara and Lenin Play Chess Ira Nayman has written radio plays, film and television scripts, produced a short film and is the creator of the offbeat humor website Les Pages aux Folles. Mr. Nayman received his M.A. in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. in Communications from McGill University. He grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When he is not being funny all over the place, Mr. Nayman teaches New Media at Ryerson University. Publisher's website: http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/WhatWereOnceMiraclesAreNowChild...


My Review

I have been on this book for the best part of a month, dipping in and out of it as I couldn't read it continuously. The book consists of one chapter dealing with the head office at the alternate news headquarters and alternates between that and a chapter of random newspaper articles.

Their is no introduction, you are just thrown right into the story(s) - the newspaper articles you don't need to have read any of the others as they are unconnected (from what I remember). The headquarters does have a few characters that you get to know briefly along the way but there is no real story.

It is a tongue in cheek book with silliness pretty much being the theme which will strike a cord with a lot of people but it just wasn't for me. I just couldn't get into it. I like to know how things came to be and what the point to it is - you don't get this with this book. I am sure it will be popular with readers who like randomness and silliness but I personally need some kind of context in my books. Sadly there was nothing I liked about this book at all so can only give it a 1/5 rating. Thanks to the author for giving me the chance to try and review his work.

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Review - The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Blurb From Goodreads

This beautiful and sad first novel, recently adapted for a major motion picture, tells of a band of teenage sleuths who piece together the story of a twenty-year old family tragedy begun by the youngest daughter’s spectacular demise by self-defenstration, which inaugurates “the year of the suicides.”

My Review

Ugh I was so disappointed by this book! I thought we were going to get an in depth look at the girls lives, what happened to make them all do what they did and behave as they did but was left with just as many questions if not more by the time I got through it. The book tells from the point of view of kids they grew up with and always refers to "we would see them or we watched from outside" yet never said who the we were.

There was no depth to any of the characters, I felt no reasons or explanations for the way the parents were or even the girls. Why no-one stepped in, said anything, done anything. Why did the girls choose to involve the people they did and why in that way. Maybe there was some deep and hidden meaning to the book but I failed to see it.

I was bored for most of the book (intrigued before the first suicide but bored and annoyed thereafter), the chapter lengths varied as well, one was only say 12 or 14 pages long and another was over 80. Overall it dragged and didn't hold my interest and I found it a real chore to read and finish it so 1/5 for me. I'm not sure if I would read this author again, if I did it will be when this book is a distant memory.

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A.R.R - Shadows Behind The Rainbow by Otis Randolf

Shadows Behind the Rainbow by Otis Randolf

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Time taken to read - 6 days before giving up



Blurb From Goodreads



On a quest for self-acceptance, one man will journey over the rainbow to discover a toxic mix of obsession and murder. Denard Lewis clings to alcohol and his professional reputation as a shrewd PR sports agent in an effort to ignore the truth about his sexuality. Denard’s plight, however, is magnified when he becomes entangled in a dysfunctional triangle with his high-profile basketball client who is determined to have him, and another man suspected in a double homicide. Finding inner peace may be a matter of life and death.



My Review



Sadly this is another one I have had to call it quits with. It starts with a sexual encounter (quite descriptive) with a husband and wife who are separated. Then it jumps to two males who are having relations (again quite descriptive) before they have a fight and then onto another character. I got lost in amongst the different characters and story lines but stuck with it and they did start to link in with each other.



The lingo the characters used kept switching for example "you mind if I join you? A Brotha is stravin' like marvin" then they would speak using proper English only to switch to wassssup or brotha. I found this really distracting and it took me ages to get through a page when normally I would whizz through it.



I kept going because once you pull away all the sex, and bed hopping there does seem to be a deep journey Denard is on but when I got to page 103 I had to give up. There had been abuse in the book of a male prostitute which I eventually got through but here was two Reverands, one giving the other a boy to "help with his grief". I just can't read anymore it is so brutal with most of the sex side which is a huge part of the book. I know this book has fans as it has 5 and 4 star ratings but it just isn't for me. I hate giving up on books and have never gave up on a review request from an author or publisher before but I just can't read anymore. 1/5 because I had to give up after struggling through and being unable to finish it.

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Review - Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


Time taken to read - gave up after 1.5 days and 83 pages



Blurb From Goodreads



Both a page-turner and a work of art... an almost perfectly written novel' — Sarah Sands, Evening Standard



This is the story of the Berglunds, their son Joey, their daughter Jessica and their friend Richard Katz. It is about how we use and abuse our freedom; about the beginning and ending of love; teenage lust; the unexpectedness of adult life; why we compete with our friends; how we betray those closest to us; and why things almost never work out as they 'should'. It is a story about the human heart, and what it leads us to do to ourselves and each other.



My Review



This is only the second book I have ever gave up on. I just couldn't get on with the way the book is written. The story starts with a group of neighbors and their relationship with each other and their children and their arguments. They way they engage with each other was just grating for me and mostly arguments and there didn't seem any path the story was going, I just couldn't follow it.



Then the story moves to Patty Berglund (one of the neighbours from the first part) as an autobiography type as advised by her therapist and goes to when she was younger. Again it just didn't work for me, she is attacked and her and her parents attitude to it is bizarre at most and then it just simply moves on to yet another bizarre relationship with a girl from college.



My heard was bursting reading this and after trawling through 83 pages I just had to give up. It isn't something I have ever said but I am not sure I would try anything else by this author and if I did it would be a long time from now to get over this brush. His writing just isn't for me although he has won lots of awards and does have fans out there, 1/5 for me as I didn't complete the book.

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