REVIEW: Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman

Title: Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog #1)
Author: Anne Blankman
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Romance.
Publication Date: April 22nd 2014
Publisher: Balzer and Bray

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 401

Rating: 5/5

In 1930s Munich, danger lurks behind dark corners, and secrets are buried deep within the city. But Gretchen Müller, who grew up in the National Socialist Party under the wing of her "uncle" Dolf, has been shielded from that side of society ever since her father traded his life for Dolf's, and Gretchen is his favorite, his pet.

Uncle Dolf is none other than Adolf Hitler. And Gretchen follows his every command.

Until she meets a fearless and handsome young Jewish reporter named Daniel Cohen. Gretchen should despise Daniel, yet she can't stop herself from listening to his story: that her father, the adored Nazi martyr, was actually murdered by an unknown comrade. She also can't help the fierce attraction brewing between them, despite everything she's been taught to believe about Jews.

As Gretchen investigates the very people she's always considered friends, she must decide where her loyalties lie. Will she choose the safety of her former life as a Nazi darling, or will she dare to dig up the truth—even if it could get her and Daniel killed?

From debut author Anne Blankman comes this harrowing and evocative story about an ordinary girl faced with the extraordinary decision to give up everything she's ever believed . . . and to trust her own heart instead.

When I heard Prisoner of Night and Fog was about 1930’s Germany, it quickly became one of my most anticipated books of 2015. Like Anne Blankman, I’ve been obsessed with everything World War Two related since I read Anne Frank’s diary so this was no exception. It certainly didn’t hurt that this a really gorgeous book either.

Gretchen Muller is a different sort of character. Usually in World War Two/Holocaust novels, the main character is almost always Jewish and while I love those stories, it was interesting to see another side. Gretchen and her family are in Hitler’s inner circle, which meant this was a little bit strange to read at times – the thought that people like Gretchen (who is fictional) would have seen Hitler as just a normal person is terrifying. The scenes where Hitler did appear were almost difficult to read, but it was all so beautifully written that I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Moving on from that! The story is a little bit slow to start, but it was still interesting. By the second part, it has well and truly picked up and things were getting intense. There was a bit of everything – some romance, some family issues, politics, mystery, history (ha, I rhymed) and even some psychology. There are so many layers to this story – it’s not just a story about politics in 1930’s Germany, it’s about a girl and family and loyalty and love and realising what is good and true in the world. It’s beautiful and it’s haunting.

I know some people don’t ‘get’ these story, or they don’t like historical fiction for whatever reason but I think this subject, in particular, is incredibly important. This is a different look history, one that you don’t really get to see in YA very often and while it’s not as heartbreaking as a novel set in a Concentration Camp, it is just as meaningful.

In other words, I beg you all to give this a shot. 

REVIEW: The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Title: The Bell Jar
Author: Sylvia Plath
Genre: Classic.
Publication Date: 1996 (first published 1963)
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Format: Paperback
Pages: 234
Rating: 5/5

We follow Esther Greenwood's personal life from her summer job in New York with Ladies' Day magazine, back through her days at New England's largest school for women, and forward through her attempted suicide, her bad treatment at one asylum and her good treatment at another, to her final re-entry into the world like a used tyre: "patched, retreaded, and approved for the road" ... Esther Greenwood's account of her year in the bell jar is as clear and readable as it is witty and disturbing.

I don’t remember how I discovered The Bell Jar, but I know it’s been on my TBR for the longest time. I’ve checked it out from the library two times before and I always returned it unread for some reason. I don’t know why, but I do know that I regret that because I totally needed this book in my life.

I think it’s actually become one of my favourite books of all time, and definitely one of my favourite classics. There are so many reasons I love this book. Firstly, the writing – it’s just beautiful. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it’s amazing. Some of the ideas and events in this book are quite confronting at times, but the language is so beautiful that I didn’t feel like I was reading about such a heavy subject. I feel I should probably mention at this point, that this is my first experience of reading Sylvia Plath (and now I love her). Back to the heavy subjects- I think they were expressed really well in the book. I’m sure you’re all aware of Sylvia Plath’s own history of depression, so it makes sense that it was written so realistically.

Finally, I want to talk about Esther Greenwood – the narrator. The Bell Jar is semi-autobiographical, so it makes sense that Esther is quite realistic, but I found that I could connect to her a lot more than I anticipated. There are a few superficial similarities between us – we’re the same age, both writers etc. but there’s a deeper level to it to. Esther doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life, and I was feeling the exact same way only a few months ago. She’s definitely not a role model for how to sort your life out or anything, but it’s a nice reminder that you’re never really alone- there’s always someone who feels the same way you do, even if she’s just a character in a novel.

Tell me your thoughts about The Bell Jar, if you’ve read it or suggest where I should go next with Sylvia’s works. If you haven’t read any Sylvia, you should definitely try her out.

Also, I decided to post this review today because it would have been Sylvia’s eighty-second birthday today. So Happy Birthday Sylvia!

REVIEW: Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Impulse (Impulse #1)

Author: Ellen Hopkins
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mental Illness.
Publication Date: May 20th 2008
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 666
Rating: 5/5

Sometimes you don't wake up. But if you happen to, you know things will never be the same.

Three lives, three different paths to the same destination: Aspen Springs, a psychiatric hospital for those who have attempted the ultimate act -- suicide.

Vanessa is beautiful and smart, but her secrets keep her answering the call of the blade.

Tony, after suffering a painful childhood, can only find peace through pills.

And Conner, outwardly, has the perfect life. But dig a little deeper and find a boy who is in constant battle with his parents, his life, himself.

In one instant each of these young people decided enough was enough. They grabbed the blade, the bottle, the gun -- and tried to end it all. Now they have a second chance, and just maybe, with each other's help, they can find their way to a better life -- but only if they're strong and can fight the demons that brought them here in the first place.

I never thought that this book, or any of Ellen Hopkins’ work, would be my sort of thing. As I’m sure most of you already know, Ellen Hopkins books are all written completely in verse. Let me admit something…I’m not the biggest fan of poetry- I like me some Seamus Heaney and John Keats but that’s pretty much where my experiences end. Therefore, the idea of reading a whole book, a 600 plus page book filled with verse seemed completely ludicrous to me. You might be wondering why I even picked up Impulse in the first place. I have a simple answer for this – I’m trying to read more widely, and while Impulse is still YA, obviously it’s quite different to my normal choice of books.

Anyway, moving on to the actual review now. As you may have guessed from that little spiel, I really wasn’t sure that I was going to like Impulse at all and I didn’t. I LOVED IT. Apart from the whole verse thing, the content isn’t something I’d usually go for – it’s incredibly dark, depressing and raw, and most of the books I read (no matter the genre) are usually lighter. 

I had a great childhood and family, so I’ve never experienced anything even remotely like what happens to the three characters in the book but the writing made me feel like I was there with them, watching them and going through similar stuff. It was both brilliant and completely terrifying. Each poem is incredibly beautiful but also haunting- I can’t even begin to describe it to someone who hasn’t read the book. They just made me feel every emotion possible- I could feel happy when they characters were feeling good and then the next minute I could feel like depression was weighing down on me. I just couldn’t stop reading.

I want to talk about the characters, obviously. There are the three main characters – Vanessa, Conner and Tony. They all have different voices, different problems but I felt connected to each of them. Like I said, I’ve never gone through anything like what they do but I felt like I could understand what they were feeling. Do you see what I mean about that being terrifying? I fell in love with each of the characters though- in an ‘I want to save you all and make you be happy and cuddle and love you forever’ kind of way. I’m not going to lie, sometimes they completely broke my heart and other times I wanted to scream at them for being such idiots, but I still loved them. I didn’t expect to grow close to any of them or to the story, but within a couple of pages I just did. I don’t think they’re easy characters to love at all or even like sometimes, but the writing just drew me in too much! 

I read the whole book within about 24 hours- ever time I had the chance to read, I picked it up and I think it only took me about three sittings to read. The thing was, the moment I opened the book and began to read I was completely sucked it- seriously, my house could have set fire and I wouldn’t have noticed. I just couldn’t believe how desperate I was to know how the story would end and where each of the characters would end up. I know I would have read it in the one sitting if my life allowed it – it was just that good. 

I hope somehow that my review convinces even just one of you to pick up the book, especially if you don’t think you’ll like a book entirely in verse. The subject of suicide, depression and other mental illnesses is such an important topic and sometimes I think it can be brushed over or not expressed well enough in books – I think this is a good example. It’s not a nice book, it’s not a pretty or happy story but it’s real and I think that’s all that really matters. So I urge you, please, please read this book- I don’t think you’ll regret it. If you have already read the book then I have two things for you, number one – please talk to me about that ending, I need to talk to somebody about THAT ending. Secondly, tell me which Ellen Hopkins book to read next because I need more of her in my life, desperately. I wish I had more to say in this review because I don’t think I even really begin to cover how amazing this is, but I can’t seem to put together actual coherent sentences anymore – the feels are just taking over my brain.

*Apologies for the crappy, blurry image of the cover - this was the best one I could find.