Review: Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Pages: 320

Received: Received from Random House of Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: August 28, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Serena Frome, the beautiful mathematician daughter of an Anglican bishop, has a brief affair with an older man during her final year at Cambridge before taking a job with MI5 in London. The year is 1972: Britain, confronting economic disaster, is being torn apart by industrial unrest and terrorism; the Cold War has entered a moribund phase but the fight goes on and British Intelligence hesitates at little to infuence hearts and minds. MI5 sends Serena, a compulsive reader of novels, on a secret mission that brings her to Tom Healy, a promising young writer. First she loves his stories, then she begins to love the man. Can she maintain the fiction of her undercover life? What is deception and who is deceiving whom? To answer these questions, Serena must abandon the first rule of espionage -- trust no one. Ian McEwan's mastery is more dazzling than ever in this superb story of intrigue, love... and mutual betrayal.

My Review:

So ever since reading Atonement I have loved Ian McEwan's writing and have been trying to read through all his books (haven't actually started that list yet but am trying to get there), so I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of his new book. I'm glad I did, it was definitely worth the time I put in to read the story.

I find that McEwan has a unique writing style from what I am used to reading usually, and I really love it. His descriptions are very vivid and the story seems to always have this intense idea behind it with the romance leading to so much more drama. I love how the romance of his stories always leads to something bigger, it keeps you interested in what is going to happen in the story.

I did take awhile to read SWEET TOOTH, I find that it is a book that you will need to devote your time to and not one that you can just read in the middle of doing other things. McEwan is a writer that calls for you full attention (not that I don't with most books, but there are those books that you can pick up and put down easily in between things... this is not one of those). I do feel like a part of me did not devote enough attention and I want to go back and reread it because I know I will love it more than I do now and I think I can learn more about the characters in a second reading (I debated just turning back to the first page after finishing the last page. I feel that because I did not give enough attention I had a few troubles getting through everything and really understanding what was happening with some things (I had to go back a few times to reread something). But as I continued I found I couldn't turn away and put more energy into the book because I needed to know what was going to happen next with the characters and see how they would get out of some of the predicaments.

The best part of this book that really drew me in was how the literary world had such a strong impact on the story. It brought so much more to the story, McEwan does such a beautiful job describing the literary scene and T.H. Haley's stories throughout. And finding out how Haley comes up with ideas for his stories was interesting.

My favourite part of SWEET TOOTH was the final chapter. I did not see what happened coming at all. I find that the last chapter was done amazing and really finished the story well, it was one of the best closures to a story for me. This story has confirmed for me that McEwan is an amazing storyteller and just reinforces my need to read all his previous works one day.

Review: The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

Publisher: Harper Collins

Pages: 432

Received: Received a copy from Harper Collins Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: August 28, 2012
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Eva’s life is not her own. She is a creation, an abomination—an echo. Made by the Weavers as a copy of someone else, she is expected to replace a girl named Amarra, her “other”, if she ever died. Eva studies what Amarra does, what she eats, what it’s like to kiss her boyfriend, Ray. So when Amarra is killed in a car crash, Eva should be ready.

But fifteen years of studying never prepared her for this.

Now she must abandon everything she’s ever known—the guardians who raised her, the boy she’s forbidden to love—to move to India and convince the world that Amarra is still alive.

What Eva finds is a grief-stricken family; parents unsure how to handle this echo they thought they wanted; and Ray, who knew every detail, every contour of Amarra. And when Eva is unexpectedly dealt a fatal blow that will change her existence forever, she is forced to choose: Stay and live out her years as a copy or leave and risk it all for the freedom to be an original. To be Eva.

From debut novelist Sangu Mandanna comes the dazzling story of a girl who was always told what she had to be—until she found the strength to decide for herself.

My Review:

I have been eagerly expecting the release of this book, everything about it sounds amazing and really draws you in. There is a strong message embedded in this story that really makes the reader think about things. I love that a lot of THE LOST GIRL comes from the story of Frankenstein, it gives the story a great start and a bit of creepiness.

I have really gotten into the books lately that give this idea of eternal life in a certain way and this is one of those that once you are finished reading you still think about the ideas that are brought up, long after you are finished reading it. Though this is not an action packed novel (there is a bit of action though), it is very moving and definitely thought-provoking. This is one novel that is hard to put down, you just want to read more about Eva's story of having to abruptly change lives.

The characters were a large part of what made this book what it is. Eva was such a strong character yet fragile at the same time, and she grows a lot throughout the novel. Though she understands what she was made to be, she still has her own personality which makes her life a lot harder and it is interesting to see how she deals with being in the position of having to take over another person's life.

I do have to say the most interesting character for me was Matthew, who is Eva's "weaver". We don't get to see a lot of him in this novel but I can tell there will be more of him in the future. He is a character that is really hard to get your head around the way he acts. There is something about Matthew that really makes you care for him even though a large part of you doesn't want to.

This is a book that is worth picking up ASAP, Mandanna has a beautiful writing style, especially for being a debut author and this novel really hits the spot ;)

For more information on Sangu Mandanna and THE LOST GIRL visit the Harper Collins Canada webpage.

Review: Debutantes by Cora Harrison

Publisher: Pan Macmillan Childrens

Pages: 320

Received: Borrowed a copy 

Release Date: August 28, 2012 (CAN)
Buy From Amazon.ca / Buy From Chapters.ca

Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s 1923 and London is a whirl of jazz, dancing and parties. Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Rose Derrington are desperate to be part of it, but stuck in an enormous crumbling house in the country, with no money and no fashionable dresses, the excitement seems a lifetime away.

Luckily the girls each have a plan for escaping their humdrum country life: Rose wants to be a novelist, Poppy a jazz musician and Daisy a famous film director. Violet, however, has only one ambition: to become the perfect Debutante, so that she can go to London and catch the eye of Prince George, the most eligible bachelor in the country.

But a house as big and old as Beech Grove Manor hides many secrets, and Daisy is about to uncover one so huge it could ruin all their plans—ruin everything—forever.

My Review:

The cover of this book is what originally drew me in. I love the colour scheme and how you are just drawn in by the flowers that the girl is holding. The writing of the title is beautiful and really goes well with the picture on the front.

I'm a fan of the 1920's and am interested in stories about that era, I really enjoyed how this was a book about sisters in this time all trying to be something different than the normal, except one. There is the character who wants to do everything to have her coming out ball and marry rich. What I really enjoyed was the strong family presence in this book. The sisters are there for each other and are always trying to help where they can. Though there is not a strong parental presence there is still one there that keeps the children from going over board at times.

Harrison's descriptions throughout the story are detailed and I felt like I was transported back to 1923. She made everything seem real and life like for her readers. She also does an amazing job giving each of the sisters their own voice in the story. Though this is told in third person point of view it is easy to tell each sister apart throughout, each person has such a unique personality.

There was also a bit of a mystery added in to the story which I found added more to the story. The secret that is found in the house I did not see coming, but when as the story went on, I could see what would happen with the secret. I would have hoped for a little more information on the secret and to spend a bit more time on what comes out of it.

I also found the ending to be a little disappointing compared to the rest of the novel. Seeing that this is not part of a series (that I know of) I was hoping for a little more resolution to the characters' stories. It just seemed like after everything that happened the ending came quick and there needed to be more to each of the girls' stories.