Book Review #709 - 1915 (Australia's Great War #2) by Sally Murphy

The silence was eerie. In the darkness I could just see the mist that swirled around the rowboat. The men in the boat seemed lost in their own thoughts. No-one spoke, no-one made a sound. Somewhere ahead a loud report. A shot? Rifle fire, from the beach, which was only dimly coming into view. This was it. 

When Australia throws its support behind Britain in its fight against Germany, young teacher Stan Moore is one of the first to join up, swapping the classroom for adventure in Europe. But the 11th Battalion is sent with the newly formed Anzac Corp to Gallipoli where Stan is confronted by the hard lessons of war. 

Though conditions are dismal and death is everywhere, so is the humour and bravery that is the true spirit of Anzac.

My Rating: 7/10

I loved how this book included some well known Australian WW1 heroes such as the journalist Charles Bean and the medic on the donkey John Simpson Kirkpatrick. 

I loved this book so much more than the first one 1914. The protagonist in this one is from my home state of Western Australia so that helped but I also felt like we got a greater insight into the life of the brave men in the trenches in this book. 

Like with the first book, enough is shown to understand the true horror and loss of the war, but it is never overly graphic to feel out of place in a YA novel. 

These books blend real historical events with intriguing and relatable characters so well. I loved the letters between Stanley on the western front and his sister Elizabeth back home in Bunbury.

I also found the field hospital really interesting as that is where my great-grandfather spent the majority of his time during the war with illness. It was good to be able to add some personal details to the story in that aspect. 

Book Review #708 - A Short History of the Girl Next Door by Jared Reck

The unrequited love of the girl next door is the centerpiece of this fiercely funny, yet heart-breaking debut novel.

Fifteen-year-old Matt Wainwright is in turmoil. He can’t tell his lifelong best friend, Tabby, how he really feels about her; his promising basketball skills are being overshadowed by his attitude on the court, and the only place he feels normal is in English class, where he can express his inner thoughts in quirky poems and essays. Matt is desperately hoping that Tabby will reciprocate his feelings; but then Tabby starts dating Liam Branson, senior basketball star and all-around great guy. Losing Tabby to Branson is bad enough; but, as Matt soon discovers, he’s close to losing everything that matters most to him. 

My Rating: 9.5/10

This is a hard book for me to review. I always seem to find it harder to review the books that I really loved, which is how I felt about this book. In fact, this was most definitely my favourite read of 2017.

Matt was a fantastic narrator and protagonist. He was sensitive with an overwhelmingly good heart. 

For the most part, this book is just chronicling Matt's everyday life from his role as Black Bears high school basketball player, the best big brother to Murray and secretly pining over childhood best friend and neighbour Tabby.

I loved the family dynamics Matt has in this book and how not only his parents and brother have accepted Tabby as part of the family but his grandparents have as well. 

Tabby and Matt's relationship starts to change when Tabby starts dating an older, popular athlete at their school - the hardest part of this for Matt is that the guy Liam Branson is actually a really nice and genuine guy. 

The twist in the story comes around 160 pages in and there was absolutely no foreshadowing of it whatsoever and I had avoided spoilers so I found this twist really shocking. 

Without spoiling anything, the events that take place after this twist is the real heart of the novel. The way Matt's family (especially his grandfather) help him out of the loneliness and isolation he finds himself in.  

Book Review #707 - Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.

When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.

But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

My Rating: 8.5/10

I actually think I loved this book even more than Illuminae if that is even possible. 

I found that I didn't like Kady and Nik as much as Kady and Ezra but that's the only negative I can think of at the moment. 

I loved how much the story progressed especially in ways that I never ever saw coming. I loved all the new settings and characters as well. 

It took me a little while to get into the book because of the distances style of writing, but once I got settled I read in practically non-stop, all 600 pages. 

This book was action-packed and constantly kept me on the edge of my seat. 

I love how unique the formatting of these books are although it makes me feel a little distanced from the characters and story when I first start reading.