In Too Deep by Coort Voorhees

About the book

In Too Deep is a contemporary young adult novel by Coert Voorhees. The book was published by Disney Press on 9^th July and it is 324 pages long. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Plot Synopsis

Annie Fleet knows she’s a bit of a nerd. She loves history and is a master scuba diver, two things that don’t always get attention she thinks they should. Annie is proud of the things she enjoys but her crush Josh doesn’t seem to see how amazing she is because of the things she does. On a school trip to Mexico, Annie plans to show Josh that there is more to life than being the son of someone famous. While on the trip, their teacher has other plans though. Knowing that Annie is an amazing diver, he plans to use her to help find Cortez’s lost treasure.

One crazy event leads to another and puts Annie right in the middle of a long lost treasure adventure, along with Josh. They’re not the only ones searching for this treasure and soon they find themselves running from a group who are willing to go to any lengths to find it, even if it means hurting people in their way. Will Annie and Josh be able to find what they’re looking for, and realise they’re perfect for each other at the same time?

What I thought

I can’t say that I have ever read a book, young adult or not, about diving and long-lost treasure. I requested this one from NetGalley because it sounded so different but also fun and quite summery at the same time.

To start with, I absolutely loved Annie. She’s comfortable with herself, knows what she likes and isn’t afraid to show that. Going to a private school with kids with a lot of money could have meant a lot of bullying and teasing for Annie but luckily, her friends accept that she has different hobbies to them. Annie also knows that she comes across as a bit of a nerd because of her hobbies but she can have a laugh and a joke about it with her friends which was nice to see. I also really enjoyed seeing a character with such passion for something, other than a boy. Yes, there is a romance to this book as well but the plot outshines that by far.

Speaking of romance, Annie’s crush is Josh who is the son of a famous actress. Everyone seems to love Josh but it was never clear if this was because of him or because of his status which was a bit of a shame. It was shown that he didn’t particularly mind having to do a lot of publicity etc. because he was doing it to help his family, which was a really sweet thing. He did also just want a normal life though and to be left alone at times which I could understand. Although to begin with, I thought Josh was going to be a bit stuck up, once I got to know his character more throughout the book, I realised he was really sweet and nice.

I absolutely loved the plot of In Too Deep. Coert Voorhees has come up with something that I have never seen done before and in a great way. She is able to mix wonderful characters in with a super exciting story. Annie, Josh and a couple of others go to Mexico on a school trip, thinking they’re there to help out after a natural disaster but really, their teacher is a treasure hunter. As stated before, Annie loves diving and history so her teacher knows she’s the best person to have helping him out. But, the treasure hunt turns into a disaster after someone tries to kill Annie in the water. She isn’t one to be discouraged though and after finding something exciting, she knows she has to carry on the hunt. The plot has a blend of thrilling chases, intense mystery and an exciting outcome. I was desperate to find out more about the treasure being hunted, the background to it all and who would find it in the end… if anyone. There is a lot of information put into this book about the background and history of the treasure which was a great thing to discover over the course of the story.

Due to the nature of the plot, there are also quite a few changes in scenery. One minute the characters are in Mexico, then back home, then Hawaii and back home again. I enjoyed all of the different locations because they brought out both new things in the Annie and Josh as well as the plot. The different locations also gave this book a quite exotic feel which I liked. It made a change to have so much going on and for a book to not be set in just one place.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read others by this author again. 

Out of Breath by Rebecca Donovan

About the book

Out of Breath is the third book in (new adult) The Breathing Series by Rebecca Donovan. The book was published by Penguin on 2^nd July and it is 496 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

Plot Synopsis

Emma has been through a lot. Because of her past, she trusts no one and lets no one in… apart from Evan. Apart from her best friend Sara, he’s the one who has been there for Emma through everything, no matter how bad it may have gotten. But, she broke his heart and no she’s on her own in a quite sad and miserable state.

Emma has secrets and refuses to let anyone in to know about them, they’re just too dark and scary. Evan, however, can’t seem to get over Emma and desperately needs to know the truth and he won’t stop until he knows exactly what happened to Emma. Will Emma risk sharing everything with the love of her life or will she end up losing him forever?

What I thought

The Breathing Series has been one of my favourites from the new adult genre and I couldn’t wait to read the final book in the trilogy. Main characters Emma and Evan have been through a hell of a lot together up until this point and I desperately wanted to know how it all ended for them. As this is the last book in the trilogy, there may be spoilers for the previous two books.

In the second book, Emma’s life spiralled out of control again and she realised that she just couldn’t stay in Weslyn anymore. She needed to get away and has now headed off to Stanford University, like she had always planned to. But now, she doesn’t have the support and love of Evan to get her through the days and ends up being miserable and depressed. The secrets of the not so distance past are haunting her and without the forgiveness of the one person that matters, she doesn’t know how to cope.

I really enjoyed the change of scenery in this book. Now that Emma has gone off to university, she has made new friends (her roommates) and has a whole load of other things to contend with. Although in a new place and living a completely different life, she still keeps up the close friendship with Sara from back home which I was glad to see. It was also nice to see Emma with a whole new group of people with personalities and with people who didn’t know about her broken past. Donovan had also come up with a way of including Sara with Emma’s roommates which was a nice touch. It really did bring out a different side to Emma, even if that wasn’t always a good thing.

Emma becomes a bit of a hermit while away at university. She has struggle concentrating, she doesn’t go out to parties like her friends do and she doesn’t meet guys, not until her friends force her to have a little fun anyway. During this time, Emma meets Cole, a friend of a friend and eventually the two start seeing each other. Emma is adamant that they’re not dating though and they end up with a strange kind of relationship. I absolutely adored Cole which is hard to say because of how much I love Evan. Cole is in the dark about Emma and her past but he knows there is something bugging her. He doesn’t ever pressure her to talk about things she isn’t comfortable with though and he really is the sweetest guy. Even though I really liked him, I couldn’t help but hope for things to work out with Evan still without having Cole’s heart broken in the process.

Plot wise, there are so many twists and turns. This isn’t a book that just follows the new kind of relationship between Emma and Cole. It also delves into the past and the secrets that Emma is keeping hidden, it has some bits about Emma’s family and the mess that it is. It also has Evan back and a fight for what he thinks is right. With everything going on, Emma goes through some really rough times but I didn’t always like the way that this was dealt with. Emma is a certain kind of person who doesn’t do certain things but in this book, it seems that all of that has been forgotten. Because of such sudden changes, I ended up a bit confused about who Emma was as a character at times.  

While I enjoyed the plot for the most part, I did feel as though it was drawn out a bit longer than it probably needed to be. But, with all of the twists and turns, the new characters and a new romance, this really was a good book. Out of Breath also really ties up the series extremely well and I think fans will be pretty happy with the outcome. I know I was. Now that this series is over, I will definitely be looking out for Rebecca Donovan’s next book. She has the ability to write fantastic stories with great characters that really draw you in. This series is highly recommended by me!

Film Review: This is 40

About the film

This is 40 is a romantic comedy film that was released on DVD in the UK on 24^th June. The film has a run time of 128 minutes and is rated 15. It is also a sort of sequel to the 2007 film Knocked Up.

Plot

Pete and Debbie appear to be an average married couple with two young children. They both have pretty good jobs with Debbie owning a store and Pete a record label. But, with them both turning 40, Pete and Debbie begin to re-evaluate their lives and realise that their perfect lives are far from that. The film tells the story of Pete and Debbie in the midst of mid-life crisis’ and trying to figure out their less than passionate relationship.

What I thought

Sometimes I really want to watch a film that you don’t need to pay much attention to. This was exactly that film. Although called a kind of sequel to Knocked Up, it isn’t at all really. The only reason it is called this is due to the two main characters being in Knocked Up.

Pete and Debbie have been together a long time, each has their own business and they also have 2 daughters. The routine in their house is far from perfect, with Pete being pretty lazy and Debbie feeling like she has to do everything in the mornings. As she reaches her fortieth birthday, Debbie decides it is time for change and the whole family could benefit from doing things a bit differently. I really enjoyed seeing what family life was like for this couple and how much the kids became a part of the story.

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann both do great in their roles as Pete and Debbie. Rudd gives Pete a laid back attitude and it soon becomes clear that he doesn’t really think a lot of things through. Rudd has always been a great comedy actor for me and I’ll pretty much watch anything he is in. He didn’t disappoint in This is 40 either. Pete is a silly character who doesn’t take life as seriously as maybe he should and this was a great contrast to his wife. Playing Debbie is Leslie Mann who also does a wonderful job. Unlike Pete though, Mann’s character is quite over the top. She screeches, screams and is a bit pathetic when she doesn’t get her own way but I still loved her in this film.

Even though the two main actors were great in their roles, the were outshined by Leslie Mann’s own children who play Pete and Debbie’s children in the film. Maude and Iris Apatow were utterly amazing as Sadie and Charlotte. It must obviously have helped that they are real siblings and that they also got to work with their mother. The scenes with each of the girls was great because their personalities shined through. As the elder sister, Sadie is a teenager with a hell of a lot of hormones and she was hilarious when it came to showing how she really felt. Younger sister Charlotte, bless her, didn’t really know what the hell was going on with everyone and she just wanted everyone to be happy. How sweet!

Plot wise, This is 40 was pretty weak unfortunately. It was nice to see the life that Pete and Debbie had for a while, and to see the problems they had in their marriage. However, there were just too many problems going on and it was one thing after another all of the time. The plot doesn’t really delve deeply into any of the couple’s problems and instead, skims over them like they’re not all that important. Even though there was quite a lot going on, I felt as though the film was a lot longer than it probably should have been. At just over 2 hours long, I think a good half an hour could have been chopped off the time. After an hour and a half, I was getting a bit bored and just wanted the film to end.

Overall, This is 40 was pretty good but not great. As a comedy film, there are plenty of laughs throughout although some parts really grossed me out quite a bit. I just wish the film had been a little shorter so I didn’t get bored with it towards the end.  

You & I by Emily Gillmor Murphy

About the book

You & I is the debut young adult novel by Emily Gillmor Murphy. The book was published by Transworld Ireland on 6^th June and it is 352 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

Plot Synopsis

Living in the Irish country, eighteen year old Olive is about to leave everything she knows and move to the big city for university. Soon after moving to Dublin, Olive begins to be pursued by Tom, a guy who doesn’t think further than the next party or the next girl. Olive decides quickly that Tom isn’t for her and pushes his advances aside. But, when a tragedy strikes Olive’s, Tom is there for her, proving that he can also be a really good friend when he needs to be. Tom’s own family life is far from perfect and in the midst of trying to help Olive and be there for her, he has his own troubles to deal with and knows he can’t do everything all at once. Will he be able to convince Olive that he is the guy for her or will his own life spiral out of control before that can happen?

What I thought

It is such a refreshing change to read a young adult book set somewhere different. I don’t think I have ever read one set in Ireland, let alone by an Irish author. I’m trying to expand on the types of books I read at the minute and try new authors so I was excited about this one.

You & I is told from multiple perspectives, not just those of protagonists Olive and Tom. As Olive has just moved to Dublin to go to University College she moves in with other students and begins to make friends. Tom goes to Trinity College, lives nearby and already has his own set of friends. Along with Olive and Tom, we get to hear from friends and family members which helps the reader to see other sides of the main plot. I really enjoyed being able to get to know more than Olive and Tom. Both of their lives are complex and there are many people involved so it was great to know how events affected everyone.

The book follows Olive and Tom as they try to get through life at college. I really enjoyed reading about the day to day events of this kind of life, because I have done it myself. Some of the scenes in particular felt so realistic as I read them so I wonder whether some of the writing comes from the author’s own experiences. I remember feeling lost during Fresher’s Week, not being able to find my lecture theatres and not knowing everyone. Gillmor Murphy got these feelings perfect and I could imagine myself in Olive’s shoes. I also loved reading about Olive getting to know her new flatmates and having to deal with people from different backgrounds and with different personalities to her own.

Although a debut novel, Gillmor Murphy’s writing and characters are addictive. Olive and Tom are both extremely likeable but it is also possible to sympathise and empathise with each of them due to their home lives. Each character’s background helps to define them as individuals but it also affects how they live their lives. I really enjoyed discovering Olive’s history and to find out about the things which give her motivation. Her story is a little more mysterious than Tom’s as it is very slowly revealed over the course of the book.

The only slight problem I did have with this book was some of the language used. There are scenes of sex and drug use but this isn’t what I’m talking about. Some of the characters are very stiff in their dialogue using things such as ‘I am’, ‘I will’ instead of speaking in a more relaxed tone. I wouldn’t expect teenagers to speak in such a way so it was slightly unbelievable. Even though this language did annoy me slightly, it was quite easy to look over and it didn’t take away my enjoyment of reading this book.

You & I is a wonderful debut novel which deals with real problems, real people and real situations. I’m excited to see what Gillmor Murphy does next. 

Film Review: Hanna

About the film

Hanna is a British/ German action thriller film that was released in the UK on DVD on 29^th August 2011. The film is rated 12A and has a run time of 111 minutes.

Plot

A teenage Hanna and her father live in the middle of nowhere, Finland. Hanna is unlike other children though as she has been trained her whole life by her ex-CIA father. She is strong, smart, speaks several languages and has incredible stamina. Everything that she has been taught has been in order to make Hanna the perfect assassin and to prepare her for the life she is about to have.

After being sent into the real world on a mission by her father, Hanna quickly realises that she hasn’t had the same kind of upbringing as others her age. Now, she has to stealthily travel across Europe to get to her final destination, fighting off an intelligence operative and her team of henchmen along the way. Over the course of her mission, Hanna faces revelations about herself and questions about who she is.

What I thought

I’ve had this DVD sitting on my ‘to watch’ pile for such a long time now. Seeing Saoirse Ronan recently in The Host made me want to watch Hanna even more and I finally got round to watching it.

The film had me gripped from the very beginning. Hanna and her father are living in the middle of Finland, hunting deer and training extremely hard. Hanna looks quite young so I instantly wondered what the hell was going on and why she was learning how to fight, shoot and speak multiple languages. The life that we see her and her dad living is far from the norm and definitely not in the typical type of location to bring up a child. I really loved how interesting the plot was to begin with. It captures the attention right away and also raises many questions.

To pull off a plot as strong as this, a great lead actor was needed. Playing Hanna is Saoirse Ronan who I hadn’t really heard of until quite recently. However, she is utterly amazing in this film. At the time of release, Ronan was only 17 years old but had already been in a few films. Hanna is a very strange character and very mysterious. Having not grown up in any kind of society, Hanna is distanced from the rest of the world. But, she does know how to hunt, kill and cook a deer and speak several languages… amongst other things. I’m not sure what kind of training Ronan had to do for this film but there was certainly a lot going on for her. Although an unusual character, Ronan makes Hanna likeable. She has had no control over her life or upbringing so it isn’t her fault that she doesn’t understand the outside world. When she leaves her home in Finland, Hanna must deal with real people and real situations, both of which she finds confusing but not scary. It is interesting to see Hanna put into the real world and to watch her realise that she isn’t like everyone else. I also loved seeing Hanna making friends with a young British girl and her family and to try to find things in common with her.

In the supporting cast there are big names such as Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett but unfortunately, both are outshined by Ronan. Bana doesn’t feature as much as he possibly could have as Hanna’s dad and I would have liked to have seen a more emotional relationship between the two. Blanchett on the other hand, has a very large role in this film. She plays Marissa Wiegler, the woman hunting Hanna. Blanchett comes across as very evil over the course of the film and determined to get what she wants, no matter the cost. I find Blanchett to be a great actor in whatever role she takes and this one was no excpetion.

Along with a strong basic plot, there is loads of action throughout. As Hanna races across Europe, she has to fight off those who are chasing her. Although as I said before, I don’t know what kind of training Ronan did for Hanna, she must have done some in the ways of running. She does a lot of running in this film and she appears to be incredibly fit and looks great doing these scenes. Not only does this part of the plot provide some great action scenes, it also provides great scenery. As the film starts in Finland and ends in Germany, there are plenty of places visited in-between. From beautiful snowy forests in Finland to urban Germany, there is always something wonderful to look at.

Hanna is tense, exciting and mysterious at the same time. This is one of the best thriller/ action films I have seen in a while and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. 

Brooklyn Girls by Gemma Burgess

About the book

Brooklyn Girls is the first book in the new adult series of the same name by Gemma Burgess. The book was published on 4^th July by Quercus and it is 352 pages long.

Plot Synopsis

Graduate Pia lives with her friends in a wonderful town house in Brooklyn. But, she has no job, often makes a fool out of herself on Facebook and is having trouble figuring out her life… and how to pay the rent! Pia knows that she’s expected to act like the adult that she is but she can’t seem to stop herself from drinking, partying, hooking up and generally having a damn good time. It’s time to figure out what to do with her life but she never thought that would include a food truck and a loan shark.

What I thought

This is the first book in a series and concentrated on the character Pia, one of the five girls who live together in Brooklyn, New York. Along with Pia there is Julia, Angie, Maddy and Coco – all twenty something graduates working in the real world for the first time. To start with, I really liked the set-up of this book. As a recent graduate myself, I know all too well what it’s like to leave university and have expectations put upon you. Pia especially gets a lot of pressure from her parents who live abroad to make something of herself and to be successful in the workplace.

Although this book does focus mainly on Pia, the other girls are all a big part of her story. The group of friends are extremely close and if something bad happens, all of them get involved. Some of the girls I liked more than others though. Pia is a really fun girl to read about due to the kinds of things that she gets up to. She’s a pretty fun loving character who likes to go out and have a good time – what 22 year old doesn’t? I really enjoyed following the girls and their antics because they reminded me of a time where I was going out all of the time and going a bit crazy.

The plot follows Pia as she gets fired from one job and realises that she needs to sort her life out quickly. This book has a fun and interesting plot which I enjoyed a lot. Pia ends up buying an old food truck on a whim and has to make it work for her and her lifestyle. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments throughout this book due to the situations that Pia gets herself into. At the same time as figuring out a new career, there are a few love interests which was a nice addition. However, romance is not the main focus of this book which made for a refreshing change.

What I loved about this book was that it was real. Gemma Burgess doesn’t write fluffy love stories and happy endings but instead, she writes about the problems of real people. Pia has realised that she majored in a subject that is completely useless and she’s unemployable. She has no experience, no goals and no drive whatsoever. Being an adult and living away from parents means having to feed yourself, pay the bill and the rent and all of these subjects are tackled really well. There is a great mix of important issues along with some really entertaining events going on.

While I did enjoy the majority of this book, there were a few things that bugged me. The language used between the group of friends was annoying as hell. I get that they’re all young and want to use ‘cool’ words but some of it was far too much for me. If you’ve read this yourself then you’ll probably know which words I’m talking about. Also, the girls have ridiculous nicknames for themselves which I absolutely could not stand. It was all a bit childish and didn’t make the characters seem cool at all.

Even with the annoying language, this was a pretty fun book to read. There’s plenty going on, interesting characters and it is also funny. I’m looking forward to reading more about these Brooklyn Girls and I hope each of them get their own story. 

The Pink Hotel by Anna Stothard and Giveaway

About the book

The Pink Hotel was first published on 18^th April 2011 by Alma Books. It is 300 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy.

Plot Synopsis

After her estranged mother Lily dies, her seventeen year old daughter flies to Los Angeles from London for the funeral. After she manages to steal a suitcase full of letters, random items of clothing and photographs from her mother’s bedroom in a pink hotel, it sets her on a mission to find out more about who she really is. Spending the summer roaming around LA, Lily’s life is slowly revealed and her daughter begins to realise she is more like her than she once thought.

What I thought

This isn’t the usual sort of book that would be called young adult, but it is. I was looking forward to reading something a bit different.

Something quite strange about this book is that the protagonist never gets named. Maybe because it is told in the first person from the teenager’s perspective, who knows. Even though her name is never mentioned, she was a wonderful character to read about. Being left by her mother at the age of three had a massive impact on her life as she was left to be brought up by her father. She’s also not a girly girl at all and loves things such as football and getting into fights. The lack of a motherly figure in her life was so clear to see. Even though she never really knew her mother, I really liked that she still wanted to go to the funeral and to see what her mother was like.

For a girl her age, going all the way to LA on her own with no one there to greet her must have been quite a scary thing. Not only that, but it doesn’t seem as though any of her mother’s friends knew anything about her or that she even existed. Quickly, the book becomes a mystery novel as the daughter searches for information about her mother and to find out what her life was really liked. The mystery elements were written so well that it didn’t really come across as something to be solved. The daughter plods along throughout the book, going from one person to the next trying to find out certain things and carrying around a suitcase full of her dead mother’s belongings.

Anna Stothard brings in some amazing characters in The Pink Hotel. Lily led quite a strange and crazy life during her time and this meant knowing such a range of people. Although Lily is much younger than most of the people that Lily knew, she somehow manages to get in close with a few of them. I really liked the moments of the daughter getting to know the people in Lily’s life, even if they didn’t know anything about her. Characters include drunks, addicts and criminals who are all people so far from who the daughter is used to having to deal with. This brings out extreme changes in her character as she realises that she may be more like her mother.

The Pink Hotel is unlike any other book I have read. While the plot isn’t exciting in the traditional sense, I couldn’t stop reading. Stothard brings in a side of LA that is never really shown, she writes characters who you shouldn’t like but do and she also writes a very gripping story. If you’re looking for something a little different then this one would be worth a try. 

I'm also giving away a copy of this book as the publisher was nice enough to send me 2 copies! The giveaway is open to UK residents only and will run for 1 week. The winner has 48 hours to reply to the notifying email before another winner will be picked. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway