Review: The Treatment by CL Taylor

“You have to help me. We’re not being reformed. We’re being brainwashed.”

All sixteen year old Drew Finch wants is to be left alone. She's not interested in spending time with her mum and stepdad and when her disruptive fifteen year old brother Mason is expelled from school for the third time and sent to a residential reform academy she's almost relieved.

Everything changes when she's followed home from school by the mysterious Dr Cobey, who claims to have a message from Mason. There is something sinister about the ‘treatment’ he is undergoing. The school is changing people.

Determined to help her brother, Drew must infiltrate the Academy and unearth its deepest, darkest secrets.

Before it’s too late.

Review: wow, this is going to be a hard book to review without giving away any spoilers because it is just so twisty and action packed with full of exciting characters and plot. I really enjoyed this book and it was a very different read for me! This is CL Taylor's first YA novel. I love her usual thrillers and this one had just as much action and set my pulse racing just as much as her adult novels do. This book has a slightly dystopian feel about it and is set in the near future. Don't let the dystopian feel put you off though, I could recognise everything in this book and it made for some familiar feeling and ` familiar setting but with CL Taylor's plot twists and a very uncomfortable reality. 

This book follows Drew and her quest to help her brother. Drew is a fabulously strong female lead. She fights for what she believes in and finds some incredibly clever ways to get her own way and to get exactly what she wants. She doesn't make friends in real life easily because she values her independence so much and i found this really relatable and also very admirable. Her bother Mason is a character in this novel but we don't get to know as much of his back story as we do Drew's therefore I didn't feel as much of a connection to him or the other characters in the novel as much as my connection with her. 

The adults in this book are definitely not to be trusted and that's what makes the kind of classic YA characteristics in this novel. I love the fact that we can solve to hate the authority figures here, especially since this is mainly set in a school so we can all hate the OFSTED inspector! Some of the plot lines of this book are definitely not for the faint hearted just because we don't know exactly what The Treatment is but we know its not a nice thing! And because we love to hate the authority, some may find the reasons why we hate them fairly shocking. But I loved all the dark and twisted bits of this book, they made for excellent reading and kept me on the edge of my seat right until the bitter end!

If you love CL Taylor's psychological thrillers already then you will definitely enjoy this read. If this is your first of her books then you are in for a treat! I would definitely recommend this book for older readers and you should definitely prepare yourself to be challenged, to be entertained and to be thrilled by this awesome novel!

To order your copy now, just click the link: UK or US

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But she's still not safe. A revolution is unfolding, and everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans - everyone except Katniss.

And yet she must play the most vital part in the final battle. Katniss must become their Mockingjay - the symbol of rebellion - no matter what the personal cost.

Review: I complete dived into this book after finishing catching fire because I was completely driven by the cliffhanger ending of catching fire and I have to say I was a little diaspointed with this bo overall. I found it much more difficult to get through than the previous two books and when I had finished it, I really didn't find it memorable at all. 

In terms of the characters and the way that they develope over this trilogy,no felt that with Katniss, it was a bit like one step forward and two steps back for her. She didn't seem to want to be the symbol for the revolution, when she had been so keen to be seen as unique and strong in the hunger games so far. I couldn't seem to work out what, or who she wanted throughout the course of the book and she seemed to have become hardened to any killing or suffering around her which I really didn't think suited her character at all, overall it seemed to be a departure in terms of characteristics for her. I absolutely hated Peeta in this novel as well, gone was the guy I was rooting for in the previous two books and I actually found myself switching off when mention of him came around. 

As I say, I really didn't find this book memorable and I honestly couldn't tell you the story arc of this novel at all, it seemed to peak in different parts and not really have a massively conclusive ending, which I don't really appreciate. Whilst I know that not everything needs to be tied up with a neat little bow, I like to feel a sense of closure whe I finish a book and with this series, I really didn't feel that. I'm going to try and watch the films and see if I get another perspective on this series but I was disappointed by the ending overall. If it wasn't for the massive cliffhanger at the end of Catching Fire, I could have happily stopped there but that book definitely leaves you wanting more, unlike this final book-not for me unfortunately! 

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Sparks are igniting.
Flames are spreading.
And the Capitol wants revenge.

Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel in the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before...and surprising readers at every turn.

Review: Wow, this was such a gripping read. Like the first hunger games, I listened to this one on audiobook and it proved to be an excellent listen. I have to say, the best part of this book for me was the ending, so dramatic and such a cliffhanger-I had to start the third in this trilogy literally the moment I finished this second installment! 

I loved catching up with Katniss and Peeta, it was great to get back in with these characters. There really is a power struggled between these two as to who is on top, who is the more dominant force and it really carries on in this novel. Obviously the pair are linked and have to prove themselves as a couple but this seems harder than it should be. There are twists and turns a plenty for this pair and I love that Suzanne Collins made sure that it wasn't plain sailing for our hero and Heroine. Some of the games makers and the political figures play a bigger part in this story and that really gives you more of an insight into the world of the Hunger Games and the society that means they have to take place. 

The ogre and bloodshed was just a prevalent in this book than in the original novel, there are definitely some  moments that will gross you out and some moments where you are gunnery terrier the whole things is goingt no go up in flames. It was a truly satisfying ending following a truly satisfying read. It will get your adrenaline pumping and make sure that you really don't want to stick around to see the under games actually take place! 

Review: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Winning will make you famous.
Losing means certain death.

The nation of Panem, formed from a post-apocalyptic North America, is a country that consists of a wealthy Capitol region surrounded by 12 poorer districts. Early in its history, a rebellion led by a 13th district against the Capitol resulted in its destruction and the creation of an annual televised event known as the Hunger Games. In punishment, and as a reminder of the power and grace of the Capitol, each district must yield one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 through a lottery system to participate in the games. The 'tributes' are chosen during the annual Reaping and are forced to fight to the death, leaving only one survivor to claim victory.

When 16-year-old Katniss's young sister, Prim, is selected as District 12's female representative, Katniss volunteers to take her place. She and her male counterpart Peeta, are pitted against bigger, stronger representatives, some of whom have trained for this their whole lives. , she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature. 

Review: ok so i liked this novel so much more than I thought I was going to. people have been telling me to get stuck into this one for absolutely ages and I don't know why I left it so long. I enjoyed this one so much that I immediately downloaded the next book in the trilogy and it is my next read!

I'm not always a massive fan of things which are set in another world or have that dystopian or fantasy element to them but this one felt like it was true to real life as well as being set in a  world where there are different districts and each has their own responsibility. I have to admit that initially, the idea of The Hunger Games and young people killing each other really out me off but once i got going with the book, the excitement overtook everything else and I was shouting at it 'push him off, throw him down!' etc etc!

I really liked the character of Katniss and I expected her to be a contender in the games right from the start. She is a real person and relatable as a character. She knows what she want and stands up for what she believes in and I always love that in a character. The other characters in the games, the games makers and the mentors were all pretty cool people as well but this one main character really stuck out for me and she will be my lasting memory of this book. 

Ok so this book is intended for younger readers and definitely appeals to them. I am reading this with a group of 11 year olds at school at the moment and they are loving it. Because it is for that younger audience, the storyline is somewhat predictable, as much as a book about young people trying to kill each other to win can be and some of the events can seem a little contrived but honestly, I lost sight of that when I because wrapped up in the games themselves and of Katniss's fight for survival, or not!

Its really hard to review this book without spoilers so I'll end here just by saying, I really enjoyed this book showing that, even if you're not into dystopian fiction or stories set in fantastical worlds, you can get into this one. There area  few moments that aren't for the squeamish but you can definitely gloss over those and really get yourself into this trilogy too!