Review: Purity - Jackson Pearce

Purity by Jackson Pearce, published by Hodder Children's Books on 6th March 2014

Goodreads synopsis:
Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: listen to her father, love as much as possible, and live without restraint. Those Promises become hard to keep when Shelby's dad joins the committee for the Princess Ball, where girls must take a vow of purity - no "bad behaviour", no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises, Shelby makes a decision - to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby begins to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

Review:
There were a lot of things that I liked about this book but there were also some aspects of the story which didn't completely gel with me.  I'm a big fan of Jackson Pearce and I've read and loved all of her previous books, so I was very much looking forward to starting this title which sounded so different to her other work.  I enjoyed the fact that she's written a contemporary YA and I found it a quick read but one which contained real depth and honesty.

The main character Shelby narrates the story of her challenge to honour three promises that she made to her dying mother, while also trying to do the right thing for herself.  Shelby has a fresh voice which I enjoyed listening to and I thought it was equally refreshing that she doesn't always make the right decisions but she learns by her actions and discovers more about herself in the process.  I found the whole concept of the Princess Ball and Shelby's problem with having to vow purity to her father quite American and I couldn't understand why she was so desperately set on losing her virginity beforehand as it seemed such an extreme solution. 

I enjoyed seeing the interactions between Shelby and her father.  They are not particularly close and don't always know how to talk to each other but they are both willing to work at it.  One of my favourite scenes in the book is the cake tasting they go to together, as it's the beginning of them trying to mend their fractured relationship.   

The book raises philosophical questions about God, as well as exploring how to live your life in a way that's honest and true.  Although I was surprised at some of the events which happened near the end of the story and things didn't necessarily unravel the way I would have chosen, I still thought that 'Purity' was a great contemporary read which deals with a lot of the issues that young people face today.      

Review: Fathomless - Jackson Pearce

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce, published by Hodder Children's Books on 4th July 2013

Goodreads synopsis:
Celia Reynolds is the youngest in a set of triplets and the one with the least valuable power. Anne can see the future, and Jane can see the present, but all Celia can see is the past. And the past seems so insignificant - until Celia meets Lo. Lo doesn't know who she is. Or who she was. Once a human, she is now almost entirely a creature of the sea - a nymph, an ocean girl, a mermaid - all terms too pretty for the soul-less monster she knows she's becoming. Lo clings to shreds of her former self, fighting to remember her past, even as she's tempted to embrace her dark immortality.

When a handsome boy named Jude falls off a pier and into the ocean, Celia and Lo work together to rescue him from the waves. The two form a friendship, but soon they find themselves competing for Jude's affection. Lo wants more than that, though. According to the ocean girls, there's only one way for Lo to earn back her humanity. She must persuade a mortal to love her...and steal his soul.

Review:
I loved Jackson Pearce's previous fairy-tale books, 'Sisters Red' and 'Sweetly' but I didn't think that 'Fathomless' held quite as much charm and magic.  I enjoyed it but it didn't leave me as enthralled as Pearce's other titles.  Based on 'The Little Mermaid' by Hans Christian Anderson, the book has been given her own unique spin but for me, veered a little too far from the traditional tale. 

I really enjoyed the first half of the book, although I wasn't so keen on the direction it took at the end.  Although this tied it in with some of the other characters from Pearce's stories, it seemed out of keeping with the rest of the plot. 

The story is jointly narrated by Celia and Lo.  Celia is one of triplet sisters, who has the special ability of being able to see into the past of the people she touches.  Although she abhors this, it proves to be vital to her friendship with Lo.  A creature of the sea, Lo lives in the ocean but struggles to leave her life as a human behind.  She desperately wants to remember the details of who she was and what happened to her family but the details have slipped away.  I really liked Lo who I thought was an interesting and multi-faceted character but I wasn't as keen on Celia. 

Although there were quite a few elements of the book which didn't work for me and I would have liked there to have been more romance but not the obligatory love triangle, what I did love was the way in which Pearce captured the beauty and danger of the ocean.  I could sense the way that Lo felt at home in the waves and the power and majesty of her surroundings. 

'Fathomless' didn't tick all my boxes but I'm still excited to read the fourth and final book in the series which is going to be based on The Snow Queen and will be called 'Cold Spell'.

Review: Sweetly - Jackson Pearce

Sweetly by Jackson Pearce, published by Hodder on 1st October 2011

Goodreads synopsis:
As a child, Gretchen's twin sister was taken by a witch-like monster in the woods. Ever since, Gretchen and her brother, Ansel, have felt the long branches of the witch's forest threatening to make them disappear, too.

When their stepmother casts Gretchen and Ansel out as teens, they stumble upon a sleepy Southern town and are invited to stay with Sophia Kelly at her sweet shop. Sophia molds candied magic: coveted treats that create confidence, bravery, and passion.

Life seems idyllic and Gretchen and Ansel finally start to forget their haunted past - until Gretchen meets handsome local outcast Samuel, who gives Gretchen a reason to fear Sophia: girls have been vanishing at Sophia's annual chocolate festival, taken by the insatiable 'witch' of Gretchen's nightmares. Can Gretchen save herself, the girls of Live Oak, andSophia?

Of one thing, Gretchen is certain: a monster is coming, and it will never go away hungry.

Review:
I absolutely loved 'Sisters Red' by Jackson Pearce and couldn't wait to get my hands on 'Sweetly' which I devoured in one sitting.  It's a spin on the classic fairytale of Hansel and Gretl and is a perfect confectionery dream of a book!  You'll want to curl up with a mug of tea, something sweet to eat and savour every single word of this awesome story.

Gretchen's twin sister was taken when they were 6 years old.  Gretchen and her older brother Ansel escaped but their lives fell apart after that single tragic event which changed their future paths forever.  When their father dies and their step-mother throws them out, they take to the road and end up in a small town called Live Oak.  They eventually end up living with Sophia Kelly, a chocolatier who offers them a roof over their head in exchange for them helping her with jobs around her house.  What at first seems to be a perfect arrangement soon turns into something far more sinister when Gretchen discovers that each year girls go missing from Live Oak and are never seen again.  She's determined to find out the truth about Sophia's involvement but soon discovers some surprising secrets about the town and about her own sister's disappearance.

I really loved the plot of 'Sweetly' and the way that Jackson Pearce takes a story which everyone is familiar with and turns it into something completely different which keeps you guessing and keeps you on your toes.  Whilst Gretchen and Ansel enter what seems to be a fairytale world complete with the wonderful aroma of melting chocolate and delectable sweets which cure every ailment, surrounding them is the dark and eerie forest and a mystery that must be unravelled.     

The bond between the two siblings was wonderfully written and this is something which I previously enjoyed in 'Sisters Red' too.  Their relationship is real and you can see that they'd stand by each other no matter what.  Although Ansel has always been the one to look after his sister and protect her, in many ways, when they arrive in Live Oak, this is reversed and it's Gretchen who really opens her eyes to what's happening around them, whilst Ansel is struck by the pangs of first love and oblivious to anything apart from the charms of Sophia. 

I was wondering if the Fenris were going to rear their heads again and I wasn't disappointed when Gretchen first encounters werewolves in the woods.  Finally equipped with the knowledge of what actually happened to her sister, she determines to meet this threat head on and this leads to some action-packed chapters which had me completely gripped. 

A real page turner, this book had everything I wanted and more.  The story was addictive reading, the characters were real and tortured, the mystery was dark and complex and the romance sizzling.  I wanted to eat this book it was so good and Jackson Pearce is fast becoming one of my absolute favourite authors!

Review: Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, published by Hodder Children's Books on 7th April 2011

Goodreads synopsis:
Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.
 
Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

 

 

Review:

You will never think about wolves in the same way again after reading ‘Sisters Red’.  They are the monsters that haunt Jackson Pearce’s world and which Scarlett and her sister Rosie have vowed to hunt down and kill, after a brutal attack which ended in their grandmother dead and Scarlett permanently maimed.  From that moment on, Scarlett has made it her life’s mission to seek revenge on the evil Fenris (the name for which the werewolves are known) by finding and killing as many as she can.  She believes it is her duty to save and protect the innocence of others and it is this which she dedicates herself whole-heartedly to.  She has no room in her life for anything other than the hunt and the only people who are close to her are her sister and childhood friend Silas, who is handy with an axe and used to be her partner before he became disillusioned with the hunt and started to want something more. 

 

Dark, brooding and bloody, this book captivated me from start to finish.  The first chapter which starts seven years before the main story, literally grabbed me by the throat and from that moment on never let go.  I’ve heard the story described as a modern re-telling of Red Riding Hood but with a twist.  However, for me, it’s so much more than that.  Scarlett and Rosie are not content to sit and wait for someone else to help them or rescue them.  They're headstrong, brave and fiesty and they've learnt how to survive on their own.  Each chapter presents their alternate viewpoint of events and although Scarlett started off as my favourite character, I loved the development of Rosie throughout the course of the book and the way she really came into her own at the end.  I also loved the way subtle way in which a romantic storyline between Rosie and Silas developed and this helped to balance out and provide a lighter tone to the darkness which is always present in the story. 

 

The bond between the two sisters is one of the things that I particularly liked about the book.  They are described as having one heart but as the story progresses they begin to drift in opposite directions – no longer with the same purpose in life, and this journey that they both go through is one of the best features of the story.  Having a sibling myself, I can share Scarlett’s feeling of things being like a bookshelf with a row of upside down books when the two are having an argument or have momentarily fallen out about something.  She doesn't feel right in herself until everything is back to normal between them.  The bond they share is pivotal to the story and I really enjoyed seeing how they always had each other's back. 

 

I absolutely loved all the fight scenes which dominated much of the second half of the story.  They only confirmed to me that Scarlett is one kick-ass heroine!  The Fenris are as evil as can be and are really scary!  Their souls are beyond redemption and the sense of them picking and stalking their prey was suffocating at times and oozed out of the pages but highlighted how important Scarlett's mission to protect people against them was. 

 

The story was a real rollercoaster ride although I did guess the major twist that came near the end of the book quite early on.  Even that however, didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story.  For the most part, the writing was paced well and the plot fairly skipped along at times as I found myself totally sucked in and immersed into Jackson Pearce's imagination.  For me, the ending was perfect and provided just the right conclusion for characters which I had grown to love.  I would urge you not to hesitate and go and pick up a copy of this book now, particulalrly if you're a fan of the paranormal genre, because 'Sisters Red' is one of the best books I've read so far this year.  I loved it!