Review time! - Nina Is Not OK by Shappi Khorsandi

Title: Nina Is Not OK

Author: Shappi Khorsandi

Genre: Contemporary, New Adult/NA, LGBTQ+ (M/F and F/F)

Release Date: 28 July 2016

Amazon: UK

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book from the publisher, Ebury Press, via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

I love Shappi Khorsandi. Funny, smart, and just down-right awesome, she's one of my favourite comedians.

This book isn't comedy (no, no, and no,) but still, like the little magpie that I am, I saw her name on the cover and went 'ooh! shiny!'

And luckily the publishers granted my eARC request. Because otherwise I would have been very sad.

And sad bookish rebels aren't something you want on your hands.

Premise:

Nina Swanson is 17. Her mum says she drinks too much. But mums worry like that.

Every 17 year old has the odd drink, right? Every 17 year old gets into clubs if they can. Every 17 year old gets drunk.

Every 17 year old starts the day with a vodka shot or two...right? Every 17 year old does stuff with strange men...don't they?

It's normal to not be able to remember what you did, and with who... isn't it?

Except it isn't. And things are going to get dramatic.

Because Nina? She's not OK. Not even close.

Best bits:

For a start, can we have a big freaking round of applause for Nina as a character?

I loved her. Realistic. Complex. But also just your normal girl, trying to find her way.

She was fab, and Khorsandi does an excellent job of not judging her, and taking us alongside in the spirit of not judging.

Also, a bi-sexual girl of mixed-race descent, with mental health problems? She's diversity on two legs, and it doesn't feel like a gimmick or tokenism, which is awesome.

And you really do root for Nina.

You want her to be alright. You want her to make it. Because Khorsandi weaves us into her life to the point where you do care about her.

A big shout-out has to go to Max, the father of Nina's best friend, Beth, who single-handedly manages to be the most capable parent (and not just to his own kid,) and least douche-bag-like member of the male gender, in this book.

Well done Max, well done.

Khorsandi skips and dances along the lines of sensitive subjects - showing a deftness of prose which is more than impressive.

Doubly so when you consider that this is her first novel (her previous book, A Beginner's Guide to Acting English (UK - US) was an account of her family's immigration to the UK.)

This was one of those books that leads you on and on with very little chance of letting you go.

You have to find out what happens next. You have to see what will happen to Nina.

It's not a choice - it's mandatory to read and finish this book, even when you're mentally screaming WHY BOOK, WHY?!?!?! at the top of your metaphorical lungs at all the feels.

(SO MANY THE FEELS!!!)

You still have to read it. You have to. Go, go read it now. It's excellent.

GO READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!

Not so great bits:

This is not one for people who are offended by swearing. Like, seriously. Lots of swearing. Many times. On pretty much every page.

I personally could've done with a little less detail on the ugly-drunken-sex front. Just saying. It was... yeah... less detail would've been lovely.

Realistic, I suppose, but I can see some people being down-right offended by the grim sexy-times.

There're a lot of issues which could be distressing to people here - including, but not limited to (because man, there is a lot going on in this book,):

• sexual assault
• rape
• consent issues
• mental health issues
• alcoholism
• family issues
• suicide
• trolls
• 'slut-shaming'
• emotionally abusive relationships

See? Told you there was a lot going on in this book.

It's not one for the faint of heart, quite plainly. There's some serious sh** going down here. So be warned.

Verdict:

If your interest is even slightly piqued by this review, go read the book.

Go on. Go read it. I'll wait.

Go. Read. The. Book. ;)

Buy Now UK - Goodreads – Author's Site

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Mini-Review! - Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson

Title: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

Author: Jeanette Winterson

Genre: (Modern) Classics, LGBTQ+, F/F

Amazon: UK - USA

Verdict:

This is held up to be a modern classic, so I figured - why not? It looked interesting, after all.

I think this book doesn't get read enough because it's about *whispers* lesbians. We need to get over the narrow-mindedness, in all honesty.

Let me explain something straightaway, though - given the knowing glances and reluctance to talk about this book, I was expecting there to be sexy-times.

There was none of the sexy-times in this book. There were references to the sexy-times, but that's all. And even those are fairly tame, to be perfectly honest.

And I'm always honest with you guys ;)

This is a book about the fictional Jeanette (not to be confused with the real Jeanette,) a girl being raised in an evangelical Christian family up North in the 60s/70s.

They're raising her to be a missionary and do the Lord's work.

This is fine until Jeanette falls in love with another girl. Then the problems start.

This is a semi-autobiographical novel, where the author uses aspects of her own life to create a fictional version of herself.

I really enjoyed this book. The fable-style interludes were cool, and the way the characters were written was the right mix of affection, humour, and frustration.

It was also hugely readable, and quite short (less than 200 pages - practically bite-sized!) And if you want an interesting read, it's a sure-thing.

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads – Author's Site

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Nerd Church - Getting Back Up Again (And Again, And Again, And...)

Ever feel like life is just smacking you in the face constantly? My dearest nerdlets, you are not alone.

This week, life decided to knock me again.

Nothing big or dramatic, really, but when you've been hit a bunch of times already, any life-smacking-face action hurts a whole lot more than it would have before.

Ever been hit in a place where there was already a bruise? Exactly.

(It can be tough sometimes in the assassin princess business; someone gets maimed instead of killed and suddenly it's this whole thing and... ugh! Lucrezia Borgia wouldn't've put up with this sh**. #JustSaying)

The Poetry of Biffy Clyro

'Angels fall to the floor

Like they would if I was Captain

'Silver children' she roared,

I'm not the son of God'

- Biffy Clyro, The Captain

Amazon link (UK - US)

'The Captain' is one of my favourite Biffy Clyro songs. One of my favourite songs over all, actually. And the perfect example of poetry in song lyrics.

It's a song of hurt and hope, all woven together. It's a song with something ancient in it's heart - something that beats drums and dances for a pagan God.

Biffy Clyro's lyrics are a beautiful mix of imagery. No-one will ever be able to tell me that their lines aren't poetry.

Their lyrics (sung beautifully in lovely Scottish tones) are some of the most meaningful I've ever come across.

And they're proof that poetry belongs to everyone - not just academics and arty-types. Poetry is not sovereign territory, and can be enjoyed by everyone.

'This river is particularly sinister
Close your eyes and take my hand'

- Biffy Clyro, That Golden Rule

Amazon link (UK - US)

To me, the imagery in Biffy Clyro music - just that blend of the religious, the natural, the mystical, and the mundane - is just incredible.

Don't get me wrong, Biff' aren't a religious band. But they take religious imagery - angels, God, heaven, demons - and turn it into a beautiful complex weave of metaphors.

OK, so maybe I'm making them sound a lot more intellectual than I should be. They're a rock band, not a literature seminar.

But then, that's kind of the point. They've got genuine heart and a genuine rawness.

'Cause when my back is turned,
My bruises shine.
Our broken fairytale,
So hard to hide'

- Biffy Clyro, Many of Horror

Amazon link (UK - US)

'Many of Horror' is a beautiful, horrible, song. Brokenly stunning, it's just... wow.

It's about how love hurts - physically and mentally. And it's one of the few songs with the ability to make me cry - which is an achievement in itself ;) 

If you don't know much about Biffy Clyro, then you should totally check them out. They're awesome.

And, just because it deserves to be heard in all it's glory, here's 'The Captain':

What about you guys? Do you think music can be poetry?

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Friday Fics Fix - Under the Sea, Just Bucky and Me!

There's an AU for everything - I'm sure I've said this before.

(Meh, maybe I haven't said it before. Who can remember any more?)

There's an AU for baristas, werewolves, vampires, colleges... plus that one time when I found a fic which literally had all the things I just mentioned, and more. :)

(Fangirling note: AU = Alternate Universe, of which there are many.)

And this week, I'd like to introduce you to the mermaid AU.

But first, let me level with you - I haven't been able to read as much fanfiction this week as I would've liked to.

So what I've done is pick the best of the handful of fics that I have read this week. Hope you like my selection ;)

There are a lot of mermaid stories out there - for multiple fandoms.

It's honestly not something I would naturally write about, or go out of my way to read, but I've stumbled across more than a few in my fangirling travels.

via GIPHY

This week's fic is a Stucky re-telling of The Little Mermaid.

(Fangirling note: As you probably know if you've been anywhere near this blog before, Stucky is the romantic entanglement of Steve 'Captain America' Rogers and Bucky Barnes.)

I'm not kidding.

It's made up of two chapters - chapter 1 is basically the whole story... and chapter 2 is the shameless smut!

Chapter 2 is 18+ only little nerdlets! I have to attempt to preserve what's left of your innocence.

Strangely, chapter 1 is pretty PG. So knock yourselves out with the first part, and show proof-of-age ID at the second ;)




This week's fic is:

In a Palace by the Sea by mylifeisloki



So enjoy the fluffy mermaid-ness (and the smutty mermaid-ness if you're old enough) and I will see you here next week for more fanfiction shenanigans ;)

(And hopefully by next week I'll have had time to read more fanfiction!)








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Graphic Novels

This week I read & reviewed Mythic, Volume 1 (UK - US) - which was pretty wacky, quite trippy, and a lot of fun.

You can check out my review here.

I also read Limbo, Volume 1 (UK - US) - also a trippy li'l number, and one that I'll be reviewing soon. :)






Other Stuff



Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, will be releasing a graphic novel, illustrated by Fred Fordham, in 2017.

The Adventures of John Blake: Mystery of the Ghost Ship will be released in the UK, US, and Canada in June 2017.

It looks pretty darn awesome :)

-0-

Marvel are releasing a mini-series where Marvel characters are Tsum Tsums (yeah... I didn't know wtf that was before I looked it up. I'm still not entirely clear on the concept...)

I don't know whether to be happy... or scared. Maybe both?

via GIPHY

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Troy Wiggins @ Panels wrote this very considered, impassioned, and interesting piece about the importance of black superheroes.

-0-

Ryan Haupt, also @ Panels, wrote a post about fears and failings, and the inspiration of superheroes in the real world.

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• Comics Wrap Up - If You Change Your Mind, You Know Where I Am

Review (Graphic Novel Edition!) - Mythic, Volume 1

Title: Mythic, Volume 1

Author: Phil Hester

Artist: John McCrea

Other Contributors: Willie Schubert, Michael Spicer, Rian Hughes, Rob Levin

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Mythology

Series: Mythic (#1-8)

Amazon: UK - USA

A few starting notes:

I received a free digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. NetGalley provides review copies from publishers in exchange for fair and honest reviews.

This looked interesting - mythological stuff and all that jazz.

So, me being me, and being easily amused, I gave it a shot.

Premise:

The world is in a very specific balance. That balance is helped (or damaged) by mythical beings.

To keep things ticking along smoothly, Mythic, run almost entirely by figures from myths and legends, acts as a sort mystical-world-police.

And now they're under attack...

Best bits:

I liked the retro-vibe to the art here.

It purposefully goes in for that sort of poor-paper-quality look that gives everything a slightly nostalgic, retro-comics, feel, and it really worked.

I also loved Cass - Cassandra, y'know the Cassandra, prophecies and all that? - because she was kind of kick-a*s, cynical, and fun, all at the same time :)

And Nate - the cell-phone salesman who gets dragged into this insane world - is just fab.

You have all these super-powerful people like: 'Nate! Little help?!' and he just steps right up and works that sh** out.

(Oh, and Cass and Nate? I totally ship it.)

There's also some pretty damned weird stuff here for us to enjoy - which made me smile, 'cos you all know that I'm all about the quirky stuffs ;)

Not so great bits:

Dudes, I could've done without the mountain-sex (yes, I actually mean 'mountain-sex') - it's just not something I needed in my life. #SorryNotSorry.

So there's some sexual content here, and a lot of adult humour. There's also a butt-tonne of swearing, gore, and violence. So if any of that is an issue? Not the book for you.

A lot of people are also going to find a little bit... I'm gonna go with 'trippy,' but 'bat-sh** crazy' also kind of works.

Again, I'm all for the wackiness, but it might out-weird a lot of people. Trust me, this is wacky.

Also, the Mythic uniforms made me really, really, want pizza. They look like delivery people - and I got really hungry.

Verdict:

OK, this is gonna be a bit much crazy for some people's systems.

But dude, I thoroughly enjoyed the sh** out of it ;)

Buy Now UK – Buy Now USA – Goodreads

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