The Me Culture

Novel: The Me Culture
Author: Jessica Dall
Genre: Romance/Teen
Reviewer: Zoe

While this book had the potential to be a coming of age story in the vein of Catcher in the Rye and Go Ask Alice, it sadly let itself down a fair bit.

The Me Culture follows the story of Kaydence Marshal, a teen on the debating team, cheerleading team and a member of the drama department who, as a result of befriending Shawn Conwell, becomes more aware of the alternative viewpoints around drugs and experiments a little. More importantly, she falls in love with Shawn, her polar opposite. Where she is disciplined and academic, he is sporty and extroverted. But, they fall in love, and the story deals with their relationship with each other, and their experimentation with drugs.

The drug aspect of the book is well-researched and interesting, and the use of Alex Conwell as an example of how very wrong it could go is expected, and necessary to stop the book from reading like a pamphlet by Timothy Leary. But I was looking forward to a little more experimentation, and less of Kaydence being so very highly-strung about it throughout despite her knowledge on the subject. While I understood where she was coming from in her arguments against Alex’s drug use and Paul’s, she got a little hysterical, and I found myself agreeing with Shawn when he told her to stop being the police force.

At times, it reads like a typical American teen movie, and if this is what the author is striving for, then mission accomplished. There were flashes of excellent wit, but unfortunately it got bogged down in repetitive dialogue. The fights between Kaydence and Shawn were well-handled, and the writing in those scenes are some of the best examples. Kaydence’s own letters to her psychiatrist were quite self-indulgent and irritating to read due to her arrogance about how smart she is.

The ending does save the book. It was not an  ‘and everyone got married, lived out the American dream and ate pie’ ending, but a more realistic one. I am hopeful that things work out as Kaydence and Shawn would like them to. But as much as the book tries to offer an alternative view of drugs as opposed to the ‘drugs are unconditionally evil’, it still ends up with that message.

There are a great deal of spelling mistakes, so many that I can’t help wondering if the manuscript was seen by anyone else before it got published. Typos, poor grammar, AWOL punctuation…these are not things that should be appearing in any book that wants to be taken seriously.

I think that, with revision and reworking, this novel could develop into a great read. But it feels rushed in places, and dwells too long on the romantic moments, slowing the pace down and shifting the focus away from the effect of drugs on their relationship, and their interaction with others. It could have been a great story about conquering drugs, or putting forward a different viewpoint and supporting it well enough to make the book controversial in the best way. Instead, it reads like an average love story, and if one is to stand out amongst the published, it needs to be polished, sharp and professional.

Summary: This novel has great potential if it is edited and polished.

Rating:

Buy it from Amazon
Book: $9.99

The Index Book 1: Mages

Novel: The Index Book 1: Mages
Author: Katherine Gilraine
Genre: Fantasy
Reviewer: Tallulah

There is an old belief that if you throw someone who doesn’t know how to swim into the deep end of a swimming pool, they will learn very fast. After they get over the initial trauma, they may even enjoy the activity. Reading Mages is quite a lot like this.

From page one you are thrown into a complex magical world of politics and characters where not only do things work differently from the world you know, but differently from any fantasy world you know. In sort, Gilraine creates a completely new universe for her story to unfold in. It is refreshingly original and creative, but the price you pay for that is being sent to a strange, new land with no map or compass. But then,  this is often par for the course if you’re a reader of fantasy – most of us went through it with Lord of the Rings, and happily so.

If you do find your way out of the first two chapters, you get richly rewarded with emotionally charged drama and tonnes of fast-paced action told with a flair and unpredictability that keeps you turning pages.

The events in the book take place after the fall of an evil sorcerer-like character called The High Mage. A trio of heroes who have been fighting against his supporters decide to take a breather on present-day Earth. Like a decent bad guy though, The Mage manages to still make things complicated and before long, the heroes find themselves back in the thick of things.

Mages may take you to unfamiliar stars, but it doesn’t abandon you there. At its centre, this is a story that revolves around relationships between people. They may be fantastical people with super-powers but they are still challenged by ideas such as loyalty, trust, love and forgiveness. By the end you are quite certain that perhaps their strange (and originally, daunting) universe is not so different from our own after all.

Mages is the author’s first novel, and as such one gets the feeling she is still developing her style and writing strategy. Her characters often find themselves asking, “What now?”, not only of the situation but, one feels, of the author. Nevertheless, I take it as a good sign that when I reached the end of this, the first novel in the series, I also found myself asking desperately, “What now?”

I look forward to finding out in Gilraine’s next endeavour.

Summary: Despite finding yourself in a position of sink or swim at the start of this novel, I’d say try swim… it will be worth it.

Rating:

Buy it from Amazon
Book: $16.99
Kindle: $6.99

What we do

You probably agree that it’s very difficult to get started as an author nowadays. There is doom and gloom whichever way you look. More and more people are turning to self-publishing as a solution.

The problem with self-publishing is that it’s very hard to market yourself. You have no one saying you’re good and encouraging others to read you. No matter how many Google keywords you buy, or websites you put up to promote your work, people are unwilling to purchase it because traditional reviewers won’t go near it.

That’s why we’re here.

We both have university degrees that required intense study of the English language and reviewing of literature. Zoe has honours in English Literature, Tallulah studied English as a major for her degree in Journalism. We both love books and we both want to see books continue on into the future, with new authors rising to fame and fortune.

We ask nothing of you in return for the privilege of reviewing your hard work. All you need to do is send us a copy. We do not promise to be complementary but we promise to be honest about our opinions and link through to your work on whatever website you give us.

If you want more information feel free to contact us.