The Shining

The Shining - Stephen King

Rating:9/10

Danny is only five years old, but he is a 'shiner', aglow with psychic voltage. When his father becomes a caretaker of an old hotel, his visions grow out of control. Cut off by blizzards, the hotel seems to develop an evil force, and who are the mysterious guests in the supposedly empty hotel?

summery by Goodreads.com  

A brilliantly written and at times truly terrifying horror novel. With sufficient amounts of conventional gore and subtle literary techniques to make your spine crawl this completely absorbing novel is well worth it's slow introduction. The overlook hotel is brimming with secluded inescapable horror as it starts to take on a life of its own and the in-depth characters with their grim-reality backgrounds only serve to make the novel chillingly realistic. I would recommend this book to those who truly appreciate a profoundly deep horror novel with complex and intricate structure and content. 

Good Points:

• Completely absorbing, utterly terrifying.
• Written with amazing finesse, designed for full on gore and subtle nightmarish illusions.

Bad Points:

• Slow beginning.
• Aimed at generally older readers, not for the timorous. 

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

• Buy, definitely a work of fiction worth adding to any collection. 

Just in Case

Just in Case - Meg Rosoff
Rating: 6/10
Justin Case is convinced fate has in for him.
And he's right.
After finding his younger brother teetering on the edge of his balcony, fifteen-year-old David Case realizes the fragility of life and senses impending doom. Without looking back, he changes his name to Justin and assumes a new identity, new clothing and new friends, and dares to fall in love with the seductive Agnes Day. With his imaginary dog Boy in tow, Justin struggles to fit into his new role and above all, to survive in a world where tragedy is around every corner. He's got to be prepared, just in case.


Summary by Goodreads.com


Another novel from Meg Rosoff I found all the familiar qualities of the previous novels a comforting simplicity. The book I found like its kin was a nice, easy read, something to relax and chill with, not too taxing or demanding which made the read enjoyable. With no expectations for this novel I could enjoy it as it was, another surprisingly unique piece of YA literature. With some real-life issues being addressed the book had a certain amount of depth, however I found the male lead completely jarring for his portrayal as a sex obsessed teenage boy with an almost constant foul mood.


Good Points:

• Easy read, not too demanding or intellectually challenging.
• Light hearted for the most part.

Bad Points:

• Author clearly has some deranged ideas on what a teenage boy thinks about all day :|
• Completely un-relatable characters.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

In general for most people, avoid, unless you're a fan of Meg Rosoff's style or enjoy YA literature. 

The Book of Loss

The Book of Loss - Julith Jedamus

Rating: 4.5/10

A renowned storyteller and lady-in-waiting to the Empress, the narrator is locked in a bitter rivalry with another woman for the love of a banished nobleman. Forced to observe the complex rules and social hierarchies of court life, she finds herself caught in a trap of her own making. Her machinations reach such a pitch that they threaten to undermine the rule of the Emperor himself.

Summary by Goodreads.com

I chose this book because I am a big fan of novels delineating asian and ancient japanese culture, however upon beginning this novel I was confronted with a vague and disarranged prologue, not the greatest start. The confusion is only cleared up after the first few chapters and only by the pretense that the prologue hadn't happened. Continuing on with the plot, of which the environment and description was praiseworthy, I found that the characters presented were unique in such a way that every flaw and malign thought were exposed, leaving a clear image of the protagonists personality. I found this refreshing, in contrast to the too often occurring mary-sue characters of more popular novels. Unsurprisingly the romance present in the book turned more tragic than winsome, the emotions of the characters were powerfully portrayed and the feeling of the protagonists continual loss, passion and jealousy were woven through the entire book. However, despite it's merits, the novel ends in an unsatisfactory and inconclusive manner, I found myself continually putting the book down for a few days even though I liked a large proportion of what I read, for that reason I can not give the book higher than a rating of 4.5/10.

Good Points:

• Beautifully descriptive
• Refreshing characters
• Exhibits emotion above expectation

Bad Points:

• Confusing start off-putting
• Inconclusive and vague ending.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

For most people I would not recommend the book, I found it tough to keep picking it up after putting it down so many times. Avoid.

Demon Thief

Demon Thief - Darren Shan

Rating: 7.5/10 
When Kernel Fleck's brother is stolen by demons, he must enter their universe in search of him. It is a place of magic, chaos and incredible danger. Kernel has three aims: learn to use magic, find his brother, stay alive. But a heartless demon awaits him, and death has been foretold…


Summary on Blurb


At first an ambiguous sequel to Lord Loss with no clear context available, I found the immediate story difficult to grasp. With further progress into the plot the characters themselves become fuller and seemingly less random and therefore easier to relate to. Despite the confusing start (due to my own expectations of a sequel possessing chronological uniformity) Demon Thief held it's own as almost an equally engaging novel. The Gore and horror that were presented within were equal to that of the contents of Lord Loss and therefore the opinions on that count are congruent. 


Good Points:

• Imaginative use of Demon alternate universe, engaging and new.
• Just the right amount of fear inducing events to not have me up all night hiding under my duvet. 

Bad Points:

• Chronological chaos causes confusion.
• Alienates older readers.

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Buy, the Demonata are an entertaining set of books and a complete collection is always pride worthy.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The Very Hungry Caterpillar - Eric Carle
Rating: 0/10

A book based on the exploits of a very hungry caterpillar, eating his way through a variety of meals, we travel with him through a very emotional journey of self realization, the deeply moving metaphorical content of the novel mimics our own societies vices and forces the reader to consider the way in which we view materialism and the consequences of greed.


Personally I hated it.

Summary by Crimsonblaide

Alice in the Country of Hearts: Volume 1

Alice in the Country of Hearts - Quin Rose

Rating: 9/10

Quin Rose brings alice back to life in this unique Manga interpretation of Lewis Carolls Alice in Wonderland. Alice is kidnapped by a mysterious White rabbit, thrown into wonderland she participates in 'the game.' To get home she must interact with the inhabitants of the country of hearts, who are all irrevocably in love with her. The trigger happy and dangerous residents of this wonderland posses a curious disregard for value of life and not only does she have to survive her encounters she is told she cannot go home alone, its one of the rules of the game. 

summary by Crimsonblaide 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K Rowling
Rating: 8.5/10

Chilling, malevolent voices whisper from the walls only to Harry, and it seems certain that his classmate Draco Malfoy is out to get him. The mysteriously gleaming, foot-high words on the wall proclaim, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware." Harry, Hermione, and Ron do everything that is wizardly possible to solve this 50-year-old, seemingly deadly mystery.


summary by Goodreads.com


Unquestionably an excellent sequel to the first of the Harry Potter series. The unique magical environment of Hogwarts and it's occupants make for a ceaselessly engaging novel. I found that unfortunately the main female lead had more than her fair share of bad luck this novel and Potter had a comparatively easier year, with most of all intellectual challenges pre-solved and most battles fought for him, this in my opinion detracted slightly from his character role as 'hero.' However, the tiny imperfections in character roles serve more to amuse than to reduce in any way and in total I found that I unreservedly enjoyed the book.

Good Points:

• Funny, imaginative, timeless.
• Almost universally appealing to all ages.

Bad Points:

• Slight over-victimising of Hermione.
• Harry doesn't actually do a lot for himself in this novel, most things are done for him by others. 

Buy/Borrow/Avoid:

Buy