Review: Ultraviolet - R.J. Anderson

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson, published by Orchard Books on 2nd June 2011

Goodreads synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori -- the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

Review:
Perplexing and mind-twisting, 'Ultraviolet' is a book unlike any other.  Just when you think you have a firm grasp on what's happening, R.J. Anderson throws an almight curve ball at you and you suddenly have to start all over again.

This review is going to be deliberately vague and cryptic because the book itself is cryptic and some things are very much left up to your own perception of events.  It's also the kind of book that you want to pick-up and read, being totally unspoiled about the plot, so that you can form your own conclusions and opinions about the story and characters.

The book is set in a mental hospital where 16 year old Alison has been admitted by her mother after suffering what is thought to be a mental breakdown following the mysterious disappearance of another girl at her school.  Alison is suspected of being involved in this and has to deal with the fact that she may very well have even killed her.  But that's up to you to decide.  The story is presented to the reader and then it's left up to you to determine whether or not what you're reading is fact or fiction. 

I was continually changing my mind about Alison and how I felt about her but I thought she was an incredibly interesting and intriguing character.  She has some fascinating characteristics which are revealed as the story goes on and this added another layer of interest to the book.  Although living in a mental hospital, she seems amazingly sane a lot of the time and I felt an enormous amount of empathy for her as she struggles to convince the people around her, her doctor and her family that she's not mad.  I enjoyed reading about her relationship with Faraday, who is the only one who seems to understand Alison.  Their friendship starts off tentatively and is carried out very much by the book but as they get to know one another the rules don't seem to mean so much anymore. 

The story itself is divided into three parts and starts slowly but soon gathers pace as more and more is revealed about Alison and how she ended up in the hospital.  The third part of the story left me utterly shocked and turned everything on its head.  It opened up a whole new angle to the book and literally had me gasping with astonishment.  Now that, is the sign of a good book!  I actually stayed up really late to finish reading it because there was no way I could sleep with so many questions left unanswered.  Even after I'd finished it though, I was still puzzling over it and thinking things through. 

'Ultraviolet' is an intelligent and amazing read.  If you've never read anything by R.J. Anderson before then this is definitely the book to start with.  I thought it was utterly fantastic and will be picking it back up for a re-read at some point soon.  I've also read that R.J. Anderson may write a companion novel to 'Ultraviolet' which is something I for one would love to see!

Review: Knife - R.J. Anderson

Knife by R.J. Anderson, published by Orchard Books on 8th January 2009

Goodreads synopsis:
Deep inside the great Oak lies a dying faery realm, bursting with secrets instead of magic. Long ago the faeries mysteriously lost their magic. Robbed of their powers, they have become selfish and dull-witted. Now their numbers are dwindling and their very survival is at stake.

Only one young faery—Knife—is determined to find out where her people's magic has gone and try to get it back. Unlike her sisters, Knife is fierce and independent. She's not afraid of anything—not the vicious crows, the strict Faery Queen, or the fascinating humans living nearby. But when Knife disobeys the Faery Queen and befriends a human named Paul, her quest becomes more dangerous than she realizes. Can Knife trust Paul to help, or has she brought the faeries even closer to the brink of destruction?

Review:
Faeries!  Magic!  Adventure!  Mystery!  'Knife' by R.J. Anderson combines them all and more.  This was such a delightful and lovely book.  I have to say that when I picked it up I didn't have particularly high expectations, it was just such a pretty shiny cover that I thought I'd give it a try but after the first few chapters I was well and truly hooked.  There are quite a lot of books about faeries out at the moment but this one really stands out because the faeries have such human qualities.  They live hidden from humans in a tree at the end of the garden.  Much of the story is centred around a faerie called Knife, who is curious about the world outside of the tree and who is brave and courageous and inquisitive.

The story reminded me a little bit of the children's classic 'The Borrowers' with the faeries living close to, but not in plain view of the humans and having to hunt and survive in their own small community.  They are vulnerable to many of the things that we wouldn't ever think about and this makes for some really entertaining scenes throughout.  However, Knife is a Gatherer, so her role gives her access to the human world and piques her interest further about the people she observes. 

Knife is such a lovely character, along with the other wonderfully unique faeries that she lives with.  She's adventurous and a bit of a rebel but she always does what she believes is right.  I loved the friendship she develops with Paul, a human boy and I can't wait to see how their relationship is going to progress from here onwards. 

I didn't guess the ending at all but its set things up nicely for the rest of the books in the series (all of which I'm going to have to track down now!).  The story is wonderfully written, the characters are equally fantastic and the plot kept me glued to the pages.  I only wish it hadn't taken me so long to discover R.J. Anderson's faerie world.