Category Archives: YA fiction

Diana Wynne Jones (1934-2011)

27 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by in Writers, YA fiction

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One of the biggest influences on my dream of becoming a writer was the author Diana Wynne Jones. The first book of hers that I read was Charmed Life, which was published in 1977. Up to that point, I would only read Enid Blyton’s stories (my mother was beginning to despair of me ever reading anything else). Charmed Life was the magical book that broke that particular spell. From that point on, my tastes became pretty catholic, but Diana Wynne Jones’s books have maintained a hold over me. Favourites include Fire and Hemlock, The Ogre Downstairs, The Power of Three, The Lives of Christopher Chant and Hexwood. I’ve read these again and again: nearly always picking up something new each time.

This blog post is my small tribute to the writer who has influenced me and my writing more than any other. I’m sure there will be many other, much better analyses of her work in the days to come.

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Book review: Snow Burn by Joel Arnold

28 Tuesday Dec 2010

Posted by in Indie writing, Reviews, YA fiction

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Snow Burn by Joel Arnold

I came across this book via a review from Red Adept. I think I must have got it through a coupon (as I’m still leery of paying to read ebooks), and I see that on his blog Joel is offering to send a coupon for it to anyone who emails him.

It’s an enjoyable story – quite short, at under 30,000 words – but a pleasant way of spending a couple of hours. Particularly if you’re curled up in front of a warm fire, as I was, while reading about the two boys who are out camping in a blizzard when they rescue a dangerous escaped convict.

The characters are believable, the dialogue convincing and the story flows smoothly and well. I enjoyed the small digressions into ethical problems along the way. Things like: would you kill Hitler when he was a child, if you had the opportunity? One of the characters, Vince, firmly states that the answer to this should be ‘no’. His ethical views are tested by the murderous intent of the escaped prisoner.

Book review: Misery’s Fire by Kim Jewell

28 Tuesday Sep 2010

Posted by in Indie writing, Reviews, Websites, YA fiction

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The books I’ve reviewed here so far have all been available from Smashwords. This is the first Authonomy book I’ve reviewed. As the books on Authonomy are not really published, but are on the way to publication, I’m not sure of the etiquette around this. But in the hope that I’m not breaking some unwritten rule, I’ll go ahead and review it anyway. One of the main disadvantages is that you can’t download it onto an ereader, but if that doesn’t bother you, read on.

Misery's Fire

Misery’s Fire is about 19 year-old Grant Williams, who wakes up in Hell after avenging the death of his sister in a fatal fire. Nothing that the demons of Hell throw at him is capable of causing him greater suffering than the loss of his sister, Misery, so they decide to send him back to earth to endure an alternative Hell: High School.

The descriptions of Hell and its activities drew me into the book straight away – I love the idea of the denizens of Hell being responsible for earthquakes, volcanoes and, er, potholes. Once back on Earth, Grant has to cope with a new body, four years younger than his old one, and find a way of surviving with no home, no money and no family.

I read the book at one sitting – I really wanted to know how Grant would manage to escape the clutches of Hell. The book is an enjoyable read and I’m sure there will be plenty of other fans of YA books out there who would also find it engaging.

Fathers in fiction

27 Sunday Jun 2010

Posted by in Writing, YA fiction

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Andrew Martin had an interesting article in The Guardian yesterday, entitled ‘Bringing fathers to book‘. It instantly caught my eye, as the father/son relationship is one of the important themes in The Roman and the Runaway. Martin’s article examines the way in which fathers are portrayed in fiction, arguing that they are usually weak or absent characters. He is going to be presenting a programme on BBC Four on Tuesday 29 June called ‘Disappearing Dad‘ on this topic. Must get a UK-based relative to record it for me…

This is a theme that has been examined quite a lot recently, particularly in the context of Young Adult fiction. And it’s not only the role of fathers that is being pulled apart: mothers in YA books are being scrutinised, too. Julie Just, children’s books editor of The New York Times, published an article in April this year called ‘The Parent Problem in Young Adult Lit‘. There’s been quite a bit of reaction to this piece in the blogosphere. I particularly like Gretchen Kolderup’s response on her Librarified blog (incidentally, what a great name for a blog – lovely design, too). I tend to agree with her. If stories about absent or problem parents are popular with the YA audience, then, well, so what?