Hamlet - John Marsden

I must admit to liking the odd murder mystery or two, but this book is something else. For those of you unfamiliar with Shakespeare's play Hamlet then this book may be a quirky gothic mystery - death of the king...widow remarries hastily.....ghost of dead king....young prince doubting his sanity....sexual tension simmering beneath it all....

Marsden's prose is lyrical and his setting of Hamlet in contemporary times is certainly effective. But who would want to read this type of novel? I found it a little self-indulgent and asked myself, "Why would you bother?" Shakespeare had such a good turn of phrase......

Uglies, Pretties and Specials- Scott Westerfeld

This is a fantastic Trilogy written by Scott Westerfeld. The first book is called Uglies which I have given a plot outline below. The second book (which i am in the middle of at the moment) is called Pretties and the third (already in my to read pile) is called Specials.

Plot:

Set in future. Tallly Youngblood is about to turn 16 and she can't wait to become Pretty.This is the future where you are considered ugly and live in uglyville till you have an operation to become pretty. When you become pretty all you have to do is party and have fun.Tally meets Shay just before her 16th birthday. Shay doesn't want to become pretty, she would rather stay ugly and face living out of the city with this other group of run aways. Shay asks Tally to run away with her to the smoke before their birthdays and Tally chooses to stay and have the operation she has been waiting for her whole life. When her birthday finally arrives Special operations refuses to give her the operation unless she finds the smoke and betray her only friend she had in the city.What will Tally do?

Great book from start to finish! It has a great cliff hanger that makes you want to grab the next novel straight away. It is an interesting concept that we (in this century) are considered rusties to the future generation and it was because of us that the operation was created where overpopulation, sickness and uncontrolled society were the thing of the past.

Love to hear what you think!

Pictures taken from Scott Westerfields' official site:

http://scottwesterfeld.com/books/uglies.htm

Check it out to find out more about him and his books!!!

The Secret Hour By Scott Westerfeld

Bixby seems like just an ordinary small town in Oklahoma. But do ordinary small towns have Darklings. Do ordinary small towns have the "secret hour". Do ordinary small towns have an extraordinary group of teenagers, with extraordinary powers that only work in the "secret hour." Welcome to the world of the Midnighters. By day seemingly ordinary teenagers wrestle with usual teenage dilemmas but at the turn of midnight, these teenagers fight a battle against an ancient predator - The Darklings.

Scott Westerfeld has created an exciting series, this being the first. I enjoyed it very much and quickly read the other two in the series. Exciting drama. Mixture of horror and teen angst. Like Buffy the Vampier slayer meets Beverly Hills 90210, but cooler.
If you are looking for a book, that keeps you up well past the" Secret Hour", you must read this.

The Foundling by D M Cornish

The Foundling is gripping from start to finish. The world created is highly original and the characters endearing (even the wicked ones). It is a world of altered humans, but in a pre technology age, where a trip down the river is as dangerous if you fall into the toxic water as it is if you are exposed to the strange cargoes. The journey undertaken by our hero carries you away with it.

First in the Monster Blood Tattoo series. I cannot wait for the rest.