by Various (edited by Malorie Blackman)
Exc. Junk – Melvin Burgess – 1/5 Voodoos I really didn’t like this one. The main character, Gemma, seemed petty and annoying. I’d heard so many things about how gritty and brave this novel was and had only heard good things but this except infuriated me with how blase Gemma was about sex and how flippant she was about Tar’s feelings. I’m not whether I will read this now.
Exc. Noughts and Crosses – Malorie Blackman 3.5/5 Voodoos Now this was cute. I wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, only that the two lovers were separated because one was a nought and the other was a cross… I guess that their is more of an explanation in the book. But the Romeo and Juliet like story appeals to me so I will try and read this at some point.
Gentlewoman – Laura Dockrill – 4/5 Voodoos – This was a full short story and I thought it was very brave. I would love to read a full book on the subject of gender dysphoria. It was interesting, eye-opening and I would have liked to see how Danni got on back at school after beginning her journey into becoming a woman.
Exc. Heroic – Phil Earle – 2/5 Voodoos – I wasn’t sure how I felt about this one. It was a little bland from the taster I got. It may be more interesting if I knew all the back stories and the relationships between the boys at war and those left behind. It was ok just needed more to intrigue me.
Miss Lucy had a Steamboat – David Levithan – 3/5 Voodoos I great little story about a girl who has discovered her sexuality and wants to show the world but her girlfriend doesn’t have the same confidence. When she meets a new girl who is confident and sexy she wasn’t to make it public that they are an item. Sadly again, she is forced to keep it secret. This was a cute look at gaining self-confidence and learning that you don’t need others to define who you are.
Exc. I Am the Messenger – Markus Zusak – 2/5 Voodoos it was ok. I didn’t really understand what was going on. Seemed like a Sunday afternoon gangster/street kid film. Not really my thing but I liked the writing style. I’m still intrigued because so many of my goodreads friends gave it 4 stars.
Exc. Grasshopper Jungle – Andrew Smith – 1.5/5 Voodoos I didn’t really find this one interesting… No joke I just looked up the blurb for this one and it said how Austina and his friend Robbie ‘…brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.’ Well I didn’t get that from this excerpt at all!!! All I got was some confused teens messing around with each other.
Exc. Echo Boy – Matt Haig – 4/5 Voodoos really enjoyed this story about artificial intelligence. Reminded me of Ai (but better). I’d like to find out more about this.
