03.04.25
Like Williams' later book, My Murder, this story of a coming to terms with being dead was both emotionally involving and beautifully written. It was also, unfortunately, quite similar to the (later) TV show, School Spirits - I hope Williams got some credit.
27.02.25
This was sweet in all sorts of ways, including the 'sour' and 'bitter' variety. Set in a a vivid 1990s Jamaica, this was strongly imagined and characterised, although the story was a little oddly paced, which made you less invested in what happened.
55%
This won a prize for being funny but I didn't find any jokes amongst the misery of living with death and the threat of death in '90s small-town Northern Ireland. There also wasn't much of a plot. Which was a shame, because the protagonist was exactly the same age as me but I couldn't identify with her at all. The many inaccuracies about the Oxbridge entrance process at that time were also annoying - it was a small thing but noticing the errors ruined the immersion and veracity of what was otherwise a vivid account of a particular culture at a particular time.
24.11.21
Oh, the curse of the sequel. This confused mess wasn't a patch on the first book in the series - sense and logic were forgotten, which is rather ironic for a book about solving puzzles. And the two love interests were so interchangeable that the whole romance angle seemed pointless. I don't think I'll bother with any more - although I might watch the upcoming TV adaptation!
09.11.21
I last read this about 35 years ago (this is the cover I remember), probably when I was younger than Adrian and didn't understand why his problems were so funny. Perhaps because of its huge influence over (British) comic writing and young adult novels, the humour hasn't dated well, but in many ways teenagers never change.
63%
23.09.21
I really didn't want to read this month's book club choice. Why would I, when <title>? Not that such an ending is unusual, but it is unusual for the whole book to be about that ending. And indeed it was brutal - but also intriguing to explore the idea of whether it's about the journey or the (final) destination.
64%
A teenage girl unexpectedly inherits a fortune and several hot teenage boys. As wish-fulfilment fantasies go, this one was quite fun, even if I'm a little old to find the 'romance' (such as it was) very convincing. Although the end seemed written entirely to get you to read #2 in the trilogy, I probably will, when it comes out.
07.07.21
I realised what the story was really about halfway through (spoiler: it was the same pretty obvious twist as in a book I read last year) but I still cried at the end. It's a sophisticated YA novel, portraying the complex self-absorption of teens and, yes, the characters and their circumstances are unsympathetic and the writing style is annoyingly mannered, but that's, y'know, the whole point.
