Have you seen Ally Queen

yes, I'm a lazy blogger. sorry :) i did in fact read this a week or so ago :/ so if it's a little vague i apologise.

Title: Have you seen Ally Queen
Author: Deb Fitzpatrick
First Published: 2011 by Fremantle Press


Ally Queen is 15 and not happy. forced to move from her home, friends and well-stocked deli down south go the tiny beach town of Melros near Mandurah. and now they've moved things seem to go from bad to worse. all the kids are bogans and surfies. the only good thing she can find is the beach.


i really enjoyed Have you seen Ally Queen for the most part.
to start with Ally annoyed me a bit, she complained quite a bit and she was Dramatic, but to be fair, teenagers are. i grew to like her though, her voice is genuine and the writing is spot on except for a few words, like poxy. Capitalism and her identity are big themes. as she learns to like herself, you find yourself fond of her too. if you find her annoying to start with it IS worth persisting. 100% worth it.

i quite like that her parents are characters too, more prominently than in most YA. i like that they were flawed!! while they showed Ally's faults the parents weren't perfect, which was nice. so often as a teenager i see something the teenager's doing wrong, often something I've done, and the parents being perfect. the author trying to teach the teen (often nicely) that they're over-reacting or upsetting their parents when they shout. never though have i read a book where the parent and child were both responsible for the fight.

the description in the book was good, especially of Ally's feelings, but i feel Deb Fitzpatrick missed a great opportunity to describe the beautiful beaches and scrubby mountains that are down-south of Perth. i really loved how i could picture it all because these are places i know, or at least roughly. it's so nice have a book set in Western Australia. i love it if other people got a little more of the view.

i found the discussions of the happiness a bit full on, though very interesting. i really took a lot of it to heart. characters with such strong convictions made for an strong story. i loved the deceptions of Ally and Rel's relationship, it was much more realistic than normal in YA. they were friends, and the Love stuff was a little awkward, unsure, but beautiful. the descriptions of some of the things Ally did like mountain climbing and fishing made me jealous. it was familiar of holidays and school camps, and made me want to do things like that more often.

the best thing i can say though, is that it captured Australia's love of the beach in the best way I've read.

Follow the Blue

Title: Follow the Blue
Author: Brigid Lowry

once again another great book by Brigid Lowry.
Bec is restless, sick of being the responsible one she decided to become a new Bec, in a summer of change for her family. this story start with Bec's father in hospital due to a mental break down. soon after he comes home her mother, a famous cook, is offered a book tour to America and they both disappear for 6 weeks leaving Bec and her little brother and sister with a house keeper. along the way Bec dies her hair red, makes some new friends and falls in love for the first time.

as much as i liked this book i didn't think it was as good as all her others. i felt the characters wern't as well developed and that let the book down. apart from that it was great. like her other books the slightly more scrapbook style, in the case adding in recipes and instructions on things like how to Henna your hair, and the amount of detail really add to the book and make it enjoyable and more realistic. the thing i loved most though is how well she understands and expresses what it feels like to be 15. being almost 15 I identified with Bec a lot. feeling unsure about who you are, not knowing how to relate to her parents and just wanting her life to be more exciting are all things that a teenager goes through.

another beautiful book by brigid lowry.

Guitar Highway Rose

Title: Guitar Highway Rose

Author: Brigid Lowry

Publisher: Allen & Unwin 1997

My name is Rosie E Moon. I am fifteen years old. My star sign is Aries on the cusp with Pieces, which is why I am a creative warrior-woman from Mars who loves to swim.

Rosie is bored and anxious. She wants a nose ring, to stop fighting with her mother and for her parents to give her space and trust.

One day she meets Asher. Asher, the former gypsy boy with funky clothes and dreadlocks. Asher, with the guitar and the attitude. Who just wants to get away, his head exploding with homesickness and the need to clear his head. . .

I'm thinking of taking off again.

Asher.

What?

I want to come with you.

Exactly how it says on the blurb: Sometimes we know we shouldn't and that's exactly why we do.

This is such an amazing book. Not only is the story wonderful and the characters believable, but the way the book is written is simply...wow. Little bits of what the characters are thinking, conversations, room descriptions, dreams, etc. all written beautifully with juicy words. Loved it.

Tomorrow all will be beautiful

Title:tomorrow all will be beautiful
written by: Brigid lowry
first published: 2007 by allen and unwin

tomorrow all will be beautiful reminded me of warm afternoons talking with my friends and those family stories you know so well yet love to hear again. it showed the glorious belief that we can always find a little good. this books is a collection of short stories and poems done in a collage style, differnt story types and picture in the background.

some of the stories envolve some very sad stuff and there is quite a few mentions of depresion but it left me feeling alive, full of fun and wonder. i was dreaming and playing with a peacock feather. then when for a walk alone matilda bay.

i thought it was a very nice book and i discovered that you can publish short stories and that they can be in all different formats.

it's an odd book to review for me because i can't say what it was about because there was no main story line but for me it show why life should sparkle because there is always a bead of hope if you look.

this doesn't relate to tomorrow all will be beautiful but, i would love some suggestions for our blog and opinions. What would make it better and make people comment?

thanks. remember to look for that little bit of good. where'd you find it?