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Book Review: The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton Disclafani

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Like many before her, Anton DiSclafani’s debut novel draws on her childhood. Initially set in her summer home of North Carolina, the author’s love of horseback riding backdrops part of this story of a high society teen at brink of the Depression. Sent away to The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls, Thea Atwell’s family secrets and misdemeanours remain a mystery as her new boarding school life unfolds, her past slowly revealed amidst a tumultuous time coming to terms with her banishment.
Family, horses, and boys make up the revolving cast which concerns this bored teen as she balances riding school tensions and debutante drama with undercharged sexual encounters. Southern decorum rubs up against forays into romance that struggle to hit upon any meaningful suspense. Norah Ephron contended that women aren’t interested in the specifics of sex, but prefer to read about lust – a fact which initially works in this novel’s favour but becomes overused. DiSclafani’s prose is descriptive to a fault, overreaching, languid, and consequently dragging out a loose and often repetitive plot. The treacherous road to womanhood described here is unfamiliar and uninviting.
Review originally published by The List.
Buy The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls from The Book Depository | Amazon.

April Reads | 52 Books 2013

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It’s finally time for April Reads!

I only finished a few books this month, but am half-way through a couple more. Here are my capsule reviews.

 

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers

#17. A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers
★★★★★ – For a novel in which nothing really happens, I rather enjoyed this one. Alan is a washed up businessman who, with his former successes behind him, ships out to Saudi Arabia in order to present hologram technology to the Sheik. A long wait leads to physical anxieties, an unlikely friendship with a local driver, and a lot of drunken evenings in a solitary hotel room. A great read.

 

#18. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
★★★★★ – The main question this book asks is, “What if black and white were reversed?” It’s a simple allegory based around the Civil Rights Movement with a touch of the Northern Irish “troubles” – a valuable read for teens to introduce them to the concepts of race equality and empathy, but not one for me.

 

#19. The Humans by Matt Haig
★★★★★ – An alien comes to Earth and learns to live like a human. As a concept, it sounds trite. In execution, it was a hugely entertaining and uplifting read. As tongue in cheek as Hitchhiker’s Guide and inspiring to boot.

 

Video wrap-up:

What did your read this April?

Aye Write: Patrick Ness & Matt Haig

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On Tuesday I was most pleased to attend the wonderfully titled Aye, Write! – Glasgow’s book festival – to see Patrick Ness and Matt Haig at an in-person event.

I was never a fan of authors doubling up for these kinds of events because it seemed to take away time from the author I was there to see – but last summer’s event with Junot Díaz led me to Nathan Englander, and this event – which I attended for Patrick Ness – has introduced me to Matt Haig, so I’m going to have to admit defeat on this one. Turns out these events are actually kind of great.

I haven’t read any of Matt Haig’s books yet, but I’ve spent the past week poring over his brilliant blog on the Book Trust website. His title is ‘online writer in residence’ – which is basically my dream job.

Patrick Ness is the author of the wonderful A Monster Calls (which I reviewed here) and the Chaos Walking trilogy (of which I’ve read the first so far).

Both authors new books out, published by Canongate, and since they’re contemporaries and share a publisher, it seemed pretty natural for them to be teamed up. They each write adult and YA novels, contemporary with a fantastical bent, and neither are enamoured with that distinction. Haig’s concerned with the state of snobbery within literary fiction, while Ness is anti-snark and pro-wonder. It was great to hear about their experiences in writing and publishing, as well as more about their upcoming books.

I’ve uploaded a recording of the whole hour, which you can download (right-click, save-as) or stream (just click) here.

I brought along my copy of The Crane Wife to have it signed, and we were able to pick up an early copy of Haig’s The Humans, which is released next month – so I had that signed too.

I’ve just started The Humans and plan to dig in to The Crane Wife next – so I’ll have reviews of both up soon.

Here’s a link to my latest video. What are you reading this weekend?