Dark Chapter by Winnie M Li

How very unexpected; a novel about a rape is totally engaging.

Winnie M Li was herself assaulted it took her nine years of recovery and hard work for the novel to become a reality.  This is not the story of the assault upon Li but at least we know that she writes with authority.

Protagonist Vivian likes to take herself off on lone hikes and it is whilst on one of these on the outskirts of Belfast that she is raped by fifteen-year-old Johnny. Perhaps it is risky for a young woman to set off alone like that and in an early scene she is propositioned by middle-aged man. Indeed Johnny’s defence argues about that risk. Yet we probably all think that a woman ought to be safe on her own.    

Li gives us both Vivian’s and Johnny’s points of view up to and including the trial and beyond. The trial scene is particularly gripping.

Li does not spare us the horrors of the rape itself, nor of the discomfort of the police examinations and of the trial. 

The writing throughout is tight. Both characters are exquisitely drawn.      

              

Letters from the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll

Emma Carroll is a graduate from the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. I personally champion the MA in Writing for Children at Winchester. But then I would do. That's where I got my MA. I have to admit though in Carroll's case they're on to a winner.

She has a diverse portfolio of novels and I'll now try to read some more of them. 

Letters from the Lighthouse is set in World War II. It touches also on the Holocaust. One of the main characters, Esther Jenkins, has come to England on the Kindertransport.

A little unusually for this age group – I would describe this as a fluent reader book, though it may cross over from late Key Stage 2 to early Key Stage 3 – it uses a first person narrative. However this gives Olive an authentic voice and shows us what it was like for a child in that era. 

There is also a very good story, woven together via a carefully crafted plot. Not only is this story exciting and our attention is held but it explores the themes of prejudice and friendship in a sensitive way.  

A lovely read. 

No wonder it was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.            

      

Leaving Poppy by Kate Cann

I read a lot of young adult books and I write a few. Back at the turn of the century I pretty well knew every young adult book that was published and labelled as such as well as many that were clearly young adult but that didn't have the label. The new works then were fresh and experimental. The older, unlabelled ones, appealed to the young adult reader and those who like reading young adult books.  Now, it has all become somewhat formulaic even though "high concepts" are continuously brought in.  There are also now so many that it's impossible to know them all.

I've studied quite a few of Kate Cann's books. They border on what I call chicklet-lit but have a darker side and are fundamentally about relationships. I was expecting he same of this one. I found it refreshingly novel.  

Yes there is still quite a lot about relationships and as you might expect the main characters are a bunch of students sharing a flat. Protagonist Amber is on a gap year. In true Bildungsroman fashion she grows over the course of the story. She has two main challenges: disturbed younger sister Poppy and something creepy about the house. I'll say no more about the story and in fact I'm giving no more away here than in the book's own blurb. 

I will say that this book is well written, the chapters are delightfully short, the characters are believable and that we are kept guessing right until the very end. It has an upbeat but open ending. The voice is pleasing.                         

Her Father's Daughter by Nessa O'Mahony

I'll be quite upfront to start with and say that Nessa O'Mahnoy is a friend of mine. We both worked for our PhDs 2003-2007 and graduated together form the Bangor University in 2007. I'll also say that straight away afterwards that that makes no odds.  I'm fastidiously honest in my reviews and only that which has really impressed finds its way on to this blog.

I've had this book for quite a while. I wish I'd read it sooner. It is a delight.

As the title suggests, there are autobiographical elements here of the Nessa's relationship with her own father. It also contains the story of her mother's relationship with her grandfather.

The poems are strong because they relate to the real world. Nessa uses a powerful mix of writing with the senses and her own inner thoughts and observations to tell an engaging story through language carefully chosen. 

A particular favourite of mine is 'Natural Selection' (34):

April blusters into May,

plays a glassy tune

on the wind chime

guarding the crab-apple

from bull-finch rapine.

At my desk on the first floor

I miss most of the garden action,

though the upward climb

of pink and white

on the silver birch

can still arrest me  

   

There are a further three stanzas.  

The Pier Falls by Mark Haddon

It's rare for me not to be able to predict the ending of a short story or indeed even what is going to happen next. The collection of stories delighted me because every single one took me by surprise.

'Wodwo' starts off like a rerun of Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings where a family come together to celebrate Christmas and the cracks begin to show. Except Mark Haddon's story turns even more sinister than Ayckbourn's very quickly. 'Bunny' might set out to be a salvation story. We are kept waiting for the overweight title character to be saved. 'The Woodpecker and the Wolf' goes through some bad phases but the ending is surprising. 

All of the stories are on the dark side.  The title story tells of a disastrous accident. 'The Gun' will surely end badly. 'The Boys Who Left Home to Learn Fear' leaves us with the opposite of hope. 'The Weir' brings two struggling characters together. Perhaps it is very appropriate that this is the final story in the collection. We are left with a little hope this time.     

Haddon gives each story a unique and convincing in voice. If you've read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time you'll know that control of style is one of his fortes. You won't be disappointed here.

  

The book was a gift from a friend. This edition is hard back and has a delightful cover. It was easy to hold which is not always the case with thick hardback books. Just think of some of the later Harry Potters. It also has a handy bookmark ribbon. It includes Haddon's sketches. The font, its size and line- spacing are all just right. This all makes it a delightful book to own.