Jane Beaton – Rules
The sequel to Class sees Maggie in her second year at Downey House, again faced with a troublesome form and that terribly handsome English teacher over at the boys’ school who she’s thinking about far too often for a woman engaged to her childhood sweetheart. This year, there’s a new girl – the American Zelda, heavily, heavily inspired by Zerelda of Malory Towers fame. But this being Jane Beaton’s series, Zelda not only encourages the girls into American fashions and dieting crazes (which goes a little too far in Fliss’s case) but also into drinking Jack Daniels at a midnight feast. Oh, you have to love it. The balance between the modern/realistic and the old-fashioned/knowing-nods-to-boarding-school-stories continues. There is apparently a third book on the way (six in total have been planned, it being a school series and all that), so here’s hoping that emerges soon.
Cheryl Rainfield – Scars
A YA novel that’s tense, intense, and compelling. The narrator cuts herself to deal with the memories of abuse that have recently resurfaced. She can’t remember who her abuser is, but she knows one thing – he’s still out there. And after her. Through her counselling, her art, and a newfound relationship with a girl at school from a messed-up background, she starts to figure things out – but this puts her in danger. I guessed the reveal, as I suspect some readers might, but that doesn’t make it any less horrifying. It’s not a pleasant read, exactly, but it is a memorable one.
Megan McCafferty – Bumped
A dystopian comedy, if there can be such a thing, from the author of the Jessica Darling series. The story’s set 25 years from now, when a virus has spread across the world, making adults infertile and teens – and the babies they can produce – the hottest commodity around. The book takes a while to get into – there’s very little explanation of how things came to be the way they were, which has the effect of making it all very convincing but also fairly confusing for the first 50-80 pages or so. The teenage characters use slang and various abbreviations that are left for the reader to slowly figure out. It is worth getting into, though – it’s a very vivid take on a possible future society, with the zaniness of the Jessica Darling series amped up a little bit. Ends on a cliff-hanger, but a sequel, Thumped, is forthcoming in spring 2012.
Lauren Oliver – Liesl & Po
This is Lauren Oliver‘s first title for 8-12s, as opposed to YA, and well worth picking up. If I have one complaint it’s that so much of it has a quasi-Victorian-England feel to it, with references to various places in Europe making it seem like it’s that side of the Atlantic, but then it’s clearly set in a version of the States, with dollars and New York and waffle irons and such like popping up. 
I’ve read a book with a similar premise to Bumped. It wasn’t the same though. It was that some treatment had been invented that allowed people live really long lives (like until 150 or something) and remain looking young for all of it, but a side-effect of the treatment was infertility (and somehow the side-effect ended up affecting people who hadn’t taken the treatment, so you couldn’t have children in your twenties and then take the treatment later; this part wasn’t explained). Not everybody was infertile though. A small number of children were being born, but they had to be kept pretty much locked up, because of the danger of kidnap, as there were these Snatchers that abducted children and basically sold them to people who were infertile and really wanted children.
I immediately thought Zerelda when I read the mention of an American character called Zelda.
Scars sounds really good. I must read that.
That sounds really like Gemma Malley’s The Declaration only with a different angle – in hers people live forever but they’re not allowed have kids, and distrust them. You don’t remember the name/author of that book, do you? (Always fascinated by all the different takes on fertility/control that turn up in dystopias…)
Zelda is so Zerelda-ish it’s… well, beautiful. The book is completely designed for people who’ve read Malory Towers and can nod knowingly to these things!
I don’t. I tried googling key words but it isn’t giving me the book I’m thinking of. I got it out of the library, so I’ll take a look next time I’m there. I know the section I found it in! I’ll let you know if I find it or it comes back to me.
When I was in my early ‘teens, I read this boarding school story with a Gwendoline in it, who like the Zelda/Zerelda thing there, was strongly reminiscent of Gwendoline in Malory Towers. I don’t know if you’ve read any of the St. Brigid’s books. It’s basically Malory Towers…in Dublin, in the 1990s, run by nuns.
Ooops, just reread my post and I meant Drogheda, not Dublin.
The St Brigid’s books by Geri Valentine! I do remember those! Don’t think I read all of them but definitely read a couple – have no recollection of a Gwendoline though.
Da Boys In Da Corner
whoop whoop SNN RULES
Just working on the football book now, lads…
I found the book I was talking about! It’s The Hunted by Alex Shearer
Must check that out…
Apart from the Snatchers, that sounds kind of like One Million Tomorrows, by Bob Shaw.
And then there’s Ossian’s Ride. It made an impression on me, not least because one of the advanced technologies was a contraceptive pill based on turf.
Sound intriguing, both of ‘em.
I was really disappointed when I read bumped! I agree with you that it’s very confusing for the first while, but even after that it just sort of…fell flat. It was a good premise but it just didn’t materialise into a good read…hopefully the sequel will be better! (yes, despite the fact that I didn’t really like it, I will read the sequel, ’cause once I start a series I have to finish it) I just felt it was really hard to engage with the characters and I found myself not really caring about them…disappointing!
The reviews for Bumped do seem to be very mixed – have definitely seen others commenting on having trouble caring about the characters. I really liked the focus on teen culture – it’s often something that’s missing from futuristic stories – but I think people looking for a more straight-up sci-fi action/adventure story might be disappointed by it.
The sequel will be interesting – think sometimes books which are clearly part of a series/set can really only be seen clearly once you’ve read everything!
Hi, new reader here. I came across your blog today and got really excited when I saw your last name (Hennessys RULE). Anyway, did a little reading and your books sound great! Can’t wait to check them out. I’m a YA writer too and like reading and supporting other YA novelists. So good luck and I’m so glad I found your blog. Can’t wait to hear more!
- S. L. Hennessy
http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/
Eeee! Another writing Hennessy, hello there!
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