SPOTLIGHT: Button Box by Ruth Enright

 

Button Box by Ruth Enright

Genre: Young adult, Victorian era, Contemporary fiction

Read: 10th August 2022

Amazon

Published: 19th July 2022

DESCRIPTION:

A young girl finds herself living in two different worlds – the present and a dangerous Victorian past.

When Susan’s dad wants to marry again, she is thrown into a whole new family where she feels excluded. Playing with her much loved old button box for comfort, she discovers a passage to a different time – the busy turmoil of 1850s London. Here, she lives with Baxter, a canny orphan boy who has adopted her as his sister.

With Baxter, Susan is never lonely, but children like them must work and do almost anything to get by. Surviving as best they can on the criminal margins of a colourful city, they are soon drawn into dangerous activities.

Baxter and Susan plunge together into wild adventures in a tangled Victorian underworld. They meet extraordinary people from all walks of life – costermongers, thieves and fences, acrobats and street children, eccentric scientists, a rich explorer, nightmarish villains, and even Queen Victoria herself.

A lively and gripping story full of suspense and atmosphere, ‘Button Box’ will take you into another world!

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ruth Enright is from Halifax, West Yorkshire.  She enjoys holidays in Whitby, Scarborough and the surrounding area; with  Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby being the inspiration for her debut novel ‘Seahaven.’  Her second book, ‘Button Box’ is for children and young adults. A young girl finds herself living in two worlds – the modern day and a dangerous Victorian past in 1850s London.

Ruth studied English Language and Literature at Reading University and has always had the ambition to write herself. She lives in Manchester with her family and works for local government, where she has held a number of posts. She  is now an Information Governance Officer. Ruth came to Manchester as a graduate trainee in Librarianship with Manchester Polytechnic before changing career paths and training for a certificate in teaching lipreading to adults with acquired deafness in Adult Education. Ruth then had her daughter and later became a local government officer.

Ruth has always kept on writing and started a blog a few years ago for her poems, stories and other items.  Encouraged by readers, she has recently succeeded in having five short stories published by ‘Yours Fiction’ special short story quarterly magazine.

Ruth loves to read and enjoys writing in both historic and modern settings, experimenting with different genres. Ideas for her writing come from many sources, for instance the name of Robin’s uncle Jorfant in ‘Seahaven’ came from researching her partner’s family tree!

Ruth lives with her partner Jack, and a cat called Margot. Ruth is delighted to be a published author and is looking forward very much to writing more novels.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

REVIEW: Button Box by Ruth Enright

Button Box by Ruth Enright

Genre: Young adult, Victorian era, Contemporary fiction

Read: 10th August 2022

Amazon

Published: 19th July 2022

★★ 2 stars

DESCRIPTION:

A young girl finds herself living in two different worlds – the present and a dangerous Victorian past.

When Susan’s dad wants to marry again, she is thrown into a whole new family where she feels excluded. Playing with her much loved old button box for comfort, she discovers a passage to a different time – the busy turmoil of 1850s London. Here, she lives with Baxter, a canny orphan boy who has adopted her as his sister.

With Baxter, Susan is never lonely, but children like them must work and do almost anything to get by. Surviving as best they can on the criminal margins of a colourful city, they are soon drawn into dangerous activities.

Baxter and Susan plunge together into wild adventures in a tangled Victorian underworld. They meet extraordinary people from all walks of life – costermongers, thieves and fences, acrobats and street children, eccentric scientists, a rich explorer, nightmarish villains, and even Queen Victoria herself.

A lively and gripping story full of suspense and atmosphere, ‘Button Box’ will take you into another world!

MY THOUGHTS:

The premise for BUTTON BOX sounded so intriguing. A young girl finds a portal into Victorian London from the loneliness and mundanity of her everyday life in the modern world. There she comes up against all sorts of things that she would never have been privy to nor known about otherwise.

Susan's father has decided to remarry and the new mother's three daughters were to be likely new friends as well as stepsisters for her. Or that's what her father and new mother anticipated. In actual fact, the three girls were like the horrible ugly stepsisters from "Cinderella", taunting and teasing and bullying young Susan into a life of loneliness. And one that her father either seemed oblivious to or didn't care in light of his new-found love and their change in circumstances. The three girls come across as entitled and bitchy, as if they are better than Susan. And so she locks herself away in her bedroom with just her button box of treasures for company.

And just like that, Susan steps into another world a hundred and fifty years past at a time when Queen Victoria reigned, and life on the streets for young orphans was tough. Which is what Susan was in Victorian London - an orphaned. But befriended by Baxter, he teaches her the ways of the streets and together they get up to all sorts and she soon finds that she prefers this old world alongside Baxter enduring hardship than that of her modern world in a family that doesn't really want her.

The concept was intriguing, as was the premise, but the story I found to be lack lustre and a little boring. Maybe I gave up too soon but I just couldn't like the book no matter how much I wanted to...and I really wanted to. The fact that it is written for children to young adults makes the timeslips a little confusing as it jumps from modern day to Victorian with something of a bump or two rather than the seamless transition I would expect. Younger minds may find this confusing.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy BUTTON BOX because it featured a time I love to read about - Victorian times - that this part felt a little like Lindsey Hutchinson but there the similarities ended. Maybe I was in the wrong mindset - as is sometimes the case. So maybe I will pick it up at a later date and try again because I do believe it has the potential to be a fascinating tale.

I would like to thank #RuthEnright and #BlossomSpringPublishing for an ARC of #ButtonBox in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Ruth Enright is from Halifax, West Yorkshire.  She enjoys holidays in Whitby, Scarborough and the surrounding area; with  Robin Hood’s Bay and Whitby being the inspiration for her debut novel ‘Seahaven.’  Her second book, ‘Button Box’ is for children and young adults. A young girl finds herself living in two worlds – the modern day and a dangerous Victorian past in 1850s London.

Ruth studied English Language and Literature at Reading University and has always had the ambition to write herself. She lives in Manchester with her family and works for local government, where she has held a number of posts. She  is now an Information Governance Officer. Ruth came to Manchester as a graduate trainee in Librarianship with Manchester Polytechnic before changing career paths and training for a certificate in teaching lipreading to adults with acquired deafness in Adult Education. Ruth then had her daughter and later became a local government officer.

Ruth has always kept on writing and started a blog a few years ago for her poems, stories and other items.  Encouraged by readers, she has recently succeeded in having five short stories published by ‘Yours Fiction’ special short story quarterly magazine.

Ruth loves to read and enjoys writing in both historic and modern settings, experimenting with different genres. Ideas for her writing come from many sources, for instance the name of Robin’s uncle Jorfant in ‘Seahaven’ came from researching her partner’s family tree!

Ruth lives with her partner Jack, and a cat called Margot. Ruth is delighted to be a published author and is looking forward very much to writing more novels.

Social Media links:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

REVIEW: Truly Madly Amy by Kerry Wilkinson

Truly Madly Amy by Kerry Wilkinson

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary fiction

Read: 16th July 2022

Goodreads

Amazon

Audio links:
UK

US

Listen to Sample

Published: 21st July 2022

★★ 2 stars

DESCRIPTION:

We all remember that one magical summer that changed our lives.

For Joe, it’s 1999. School is over, and with zero idea of what he’s meant to do for the rest of his life, he’s reluctantly accepted a job at the local summer camp. Anything to drown out the sharp grief of missing his dad and move on from what school calls his ‘anger problems’. But getting screamed at by hyperactive ten-year-olds is almost enough to make him quit on day one.

Almost.

Then he sees Amy Ashworth for the very first time, her black hair shining in the sun – and learns that nothing hits harder than first love.

She’s the only person he knows who reads for fun, or who’s seen Titanic fourteen times. But there’s another side to Amy. Soon, she’s the only person he’s ever been to a wild house party with, or kissed under the twinkling stars. It’s the happiest Joe has ever been… until the terrible day when what’s left of his family fractures into a million pieces.

Caught up in Amy’s whirlwind, Joe can’t bring himself to tell the truth about his life. Would his dad have wanted him to fight for the girl he loves, or protect his family, no matter what?

Only one thing is certain: this is the summer Joe will grow up. But when he looks back decades later, will he be ashamed of his choices? And will Amy still be by his side?

Heart-warming, hilarious, nostalgic, and bittersweet, Truly, Madly, Amy explores first loves, last chances, and the summers that shape us. Perfect for fans of David Nicholls, Mike Gayle, and anyone who remembers the carefree days of being just sixteen, when the world was full of possibility.

MY THOUGHTS:

While this is not my usual genre, I am a big Kerry Wilkinson fan for his psychological thrillers and I decided to give TRULY MADLY AMY a go...just because it's Kerry. And I tried to like it...I really did. But I couldn't. I couldn't connect to the characters and I felt like Joe and Amy (and everyone else) were in some kind of alternate universe and I was looking in at something I truly couldn't fathom or get a grip on. I don't know if it's an age thing or that I grew up in a different generation or even a completely different country. In 1999 I was approaching 30 and life as a 16 year old then was a far cry from what it was like when I was 16. I also never had summer camps, never partook in underage drinking and first love for me didn't happen till I was about 19 or 20. The seventies and eighties were the background for my childhood and adolescence...the nineties are different altogether.

TRULY MADLY DEEPLY is described as a coming of age story and I guess it is and it follows Joe going from mid-teens to adulthood and all the situations in which he finds himself. He reluctantly accepts a job at a local summer camp as an assistant counsellor (which I think is a bit of a misnomer and should just be called assistants as counsellors require some form of training and thus the givers of advice and therapy...not the type of role given here). He is still grieving the loss of his dad two years previous and his home life is nothing short of miserable, especially as the only other sane one within those walls is his elder sister who packs up and leaves home within his first week at summer camp. Leaving him to deal with his difficult mother. He was cited as having "anger problems" and is now having to deal with being screamed at by hyperactive ten year olds. It's almost enough to make him give up on day one. 

Almost.

Then he meets Amy Ashworth. Her black hair shining in the sun. Her laughter that lights up her eyes. Her smile that makes his heart melt. And Joe learns that nothing hits harder than first love.

Amy fascinates and frightens him. And yet she is the first person he has felt anything for and it overwhelms and consumes him. He experiences many firsts with Amy from parties to kisses under the stars, but then what is left of his family is fractured into pieces, he isn't sure how he and Amy will survive.

Personally, I didn't like either Joe or Amy...or pretty much anyone else in the story. I felt nothing for any of them, felt no connection to them, and I doubt I will remember anything more about them upon closing the book. I made it 30% of the way through before giving up and skimming to the final chapter to see how it ended...and was left in confusion because I had missed all that happened in between. But I really didn't care to go back and find out. TRULY MADLY AMY will just have to be one of those books I tried but couldn't.

I am not really a fan of coming of age stories or young adult fiction. I only decided to check it out as I am fan of the authors psychological thrillers which are far more my thing...that and the fact I love his sense of humour and always appreciate his witty quips he tosses into his books. TRULY MADLY AMY was touted as being hilarious as well as heartwarming and all that but apart from a few witty words, I could find none of the sense of humour I was loosing forward to.

That's not to say that TRULY MADLY AMY is not well-written or a great read. For many, it is and from what I see of reviews it has been. But it's not for me and while I am glad I did give it a go stepping out of my usual comfort zone, it wasn't for me. But well done Kerry Wilkinson and hats off for a going a completely different road than usual. It shows versatility and flexibility as a writer as well as great talent. 

I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TrulyMadlyAmy in exchange for an honest review.

MEET THE AUTHOR:

Kerry Wilkinson has had No.1 crime bestsellers in the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Singapore. He has also written two top-20 thrillers in the United States. His book, Ten Birthdays, won the RNA award for Young Adult Novel of the Year in 2018 and Close To You won the International Thriller Award for best ebook in 2020.

As well as his million-selling Jessica Daniel series, Kerry has written the Silver Blackthorn trilogy - a fantasy-adventure serial for young adults - a second crime series featuring private investigator Andrew Hunter, plus numerous standalone novels. He has been published around the world in more than a dozen languages.

Originally from the county of Somerset, Kerry spent way too long living in the north of England, picking up words like 'barm' and 'ginnel'.

When he's short of ideas, he rides his bike, hikes up something, or bakes cakes. When he's not, he writes it all down.

Social Media links:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

PUBLISHER:

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REVIEW: Follow Me, Like Me by Charlotte Seager (ARC)

Follow Me, Like Me by Charlotte Seager

Genre: Mystery, thriller, Young Adult

Read: 19th June 2020

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 10th March 2020)

★★★★ 4 stars

An interesting yet cautionary tale, FOLLOW ME LIKE ME by Charlotte Seager is a gripping and thought-provoking tale of the effect of social media in teenagers' lives. Having said that, I feel young people should truly read this book to help them recognise the dangers of living their lives so completely online. They need to understand - really understand - that you never truly know who you are talking to online. That, and the fact that the internet is forever. It is something we never dealt with when we were their age but we, as adults, can see its dangers even if young people today don't.

The story follows two girls who go to the same school and are in the same year but are from two totally different social circles. Chloe is vivacious and popular whereas Amber is invisible and a loner. These girls live on social media but in two completely different ways.

Chloe has just broken up with her boyfriend Tom and in her devastation thinking "two can play that game" attempts to make him jealous by chatting with one of her most ardent followers, a guy named Sven. The conversations then lead to WhatsApp where the two chat more privately. Sven seems sweet and fun to start with as the two chat on the phone till 2am one morning.

Then one night she attends a party at her ex's place and makes a bit of a show of herself, in another attempt to make Tom jealous, and ends up being drunkenly escorted home by some boy whose name begins with J...she can't remember. The boy makes advances on her and Chloe fights him off, but not before groping her breasts and pressing her up against the wall to prevent escape. But escape, she does. She is so shaken by the incident, she doesn't know who to confide in. Her best friend Louise was busy with Jerome. Tom didn't want to know her. And then she remembered Sven.

But when she tells him all about the party and the incident afterwards, she is shocked by his reaction - "Well, what did you expect?" He then begins slut shaming her, commenting on every single one of her Instagram posts and sending about fifty messages to her in one morning. The constant buzzing of her phone is driving her mad and in the end she blocks him.

Then her best friend Louise starts ghosting her and after being called to the head teacher's office, she is suspended from school for sending indecent photos of Louise in her underwear to everyone. But she didn't; she wouldn't. Louise is her best friend and she would NEVER betray her like that. So who would do this to her? And why?

Meanwhile, invisible Amber has a crush on trainee personal trainer Ren. She becomes obsessed when she learns that he has been fired and she tries to find out why and what he is supposed to have done? Of course it doesn't occur to her that it is none of her business, but after she learns that he has been accused of sexually assaulting multiple women she is so sure that Ren is innocent that she endeavours to clear his name by stalking his social media accounts to find out the truth. Refreshing his Facebook and Instagram near constantly, she also adds him to Snapchat so she can SnapMap him and follow him in real life. Although her obsession comes from an innocent place, it still feels a little too creepy.

The two girls couldn't be more different and while Amber's behaviour borders on creepy, I can relate to her more than I can to Chloe. When I was their age (many moons ago), I was Amber - a loner, invisible who didn't make friends easily. I could relate to her crush on Ren as I often had crushes on unattainable boys (or even those a little older) and, although there was no social media in my day, would often find a way just to be near where ever they were just so I could watch them. Looking back now, it is pretty creepy. lol But as a lonely and invisible teen, such a thing seems to unattainable, it's what they do. It's certainly what Amber did...and had she not, things could have turned out a whole lot different for both her and Chloe.

When I requested FOLLOW ME LIKE ME I didn't know it was a YA read, as I was just drawn in by the premise. I was impressed by the subject matter and thought that it was a topic that really needed highlighting, in a world where just about everyone, particularly teenagers, live their lives through social media. I was eager to discover how it would be tackled as it is so important to have something like this that reminds young people of the dangers. This book highlights the fact that you cannot trust an online persona 100% and how easily online activity can creep into real life.

The twist may have been predictable which I saw coming almost from the start, but in the real world, it is not something we would be able to identify as quickly. Its purpose is to highlight the dangers and just how easy it is to fall into its trap.

I do agree with some other reviewers with the ending - well, Amber's ending. Without giving anything away, I felt it should have been handled a little differently, particularly in a book that could prove to be helpful to young people in the lesson of online safety. Amber's ending was just a little too neat and left the reader somewhat unsatisfied.

A fast paced easy read, FOLLOW ME LIKE ME has short snappy chapters (my favourite kind) in the alternating narratives of Chloe and Amber respectively. It is written in a way that young adults can understand yet without all the confusing text speak they so often use (thankfully). Despite it's subject matter, it was a relatively quick read that took me about 4 hours in total to complete.

An addictive read for young adults, FOLLOW ME LIKE ME is an appropriate read for teens that highlights a social awareness for their personal safety online. The internet is forever and it is full of predatory types that young people may think they are immune to...and are not. The dangers that lurk on the internet are indeed very real.

Well done Charlotte Seager for highlighting awareness on the dangers of the world wide web...and that the image people portray on social media might not be who they really are.

I would like to thank #CharlotteSeager, #NetGalley and #MacmillanKidsUK for an ARC of #FollowMeLikeMe in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Goodnight, Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian

Genre: Historical Fiction, Children/Young Adult

Read: 7th December 2015

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★★★ 5 stars!

A truly magnificent story! I'd heard my dad always talk about the movie with John Thaw as Mr Tom, and draw comparisons to life during the war and to that of an evacuee, as he himself had been. He recommended both the movie and the book to me and I always prefer to read the book first, and I thoroughly enjoyed it, staying up late into the night or early hours just to finish the "last 200 pages"! lol. It was sad in parts. The life Willie had known in London and the life he came to know with Mr Tom. Will grew to learn more about life, and death, and the strange emotions he found himself experiencing. But, I'm glad to see Sammy survived! As an animal lover, I hate stories where the dog dies...but Sammy doesn't. A truly wonderful story. Will definitely read it again someday...