Tag Archives: London

Review: A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,
A Question of Holmes by Brittany Cavallaro

A Question of Holmes (Charlotte Holmes #4)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
Published March 5, 2019

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About A Question of Holmes

Charlotte Holmes and Jamie Watson think they’re finally in the clear. They’ve left Sherringford School—and the Moriartys—behind for a pre-college summer program at Oxford University. A chance to start from scratch and explore dating for the first time, while exploring a new city with all the freedom their program provides.

But when they arrive, Charlotte is immediately drawn into a new case: a series of accidents have been befalling the members of the community theater troupe in Oxford, and now, on the eve of their production of Hamlet, they’re starting all over again. What once seemed like a comedy of errors is now a race to prevent the next tragedy—before Charlotte or Jamie is the next victim.

My Review

First, I want to say this: I’m not very good at sticking to a series, much less a series with more than three books (gasp!), but I listened to most of the books in the Charlotte Holmes series this year during the pandemic, and having something energetic and fun to look forward to at the end of the day really helped me get through some stressful and difficult days. I love this series for that, and I am really glad I listened to all four books.

That said, A QUESTION OF HOLMES wasn’t my favorite book in the series. I liked the idea, and the mystery itself– the theater group, the disastrous events, the fact that Jamie and Charlotte had to figure out how to work a case when their reputations were already known to the people involved.

I think I just wanted the story to tie together some of the big rivalries and larger elements from the earlier books, and there’s a hint of that, but it didn’t feel like enough to me, if that makes sense. I wanted more of that, and instead the book kind of reads like a standalone mystery featuring some familiar characters.

Despite all that, I love that the story continues in the epilogue and we get a glimpse of Charlotte and Jamie and who they might be going forward into adult life. I thought that was a really cool way to end the series, kind of a final gift to readers.

I’m still really glad I read this one and have no regrets about spending my one monthly audible credit on A QUESTION OF HOLMES. It was a lot of fun, and I think anyone looking for a good escape read should check out the series.

Here are my reviews of earlier books in the Charlotte Holmes Series:

#1 A Study in Charlotte

#2 The Last of August

#3 A Case for Jamie

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlotte is from London. Jamie is white American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. They sleep in the same bed.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A girl is missing, possibly murdered. A woman dies in a suspicious manner.

Drug Content
Charlotte and Jamie drink or pretend to drink alcohol with a group of teens who get very drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog.

Review: Glitter Gets Everywhere by Yvette Clark

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , , , ,

Glitter Gets Everywhere
Yvette Clark
HarperCollins
Published May 4, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Glitter Gets Everywhere

Kitty’s mother died on an inappropriately sunny Tuesday. So much has changed in Kitty’s life over the last few months, and she needs the world to stop spinning around her. She needs things to return to normal — or as normal as they’ll ever be.

Normal definitely does not include her family moving from their home in a cozy corner of London all the way to New York City. Moving means leaving behind her friends and neighbors, her grandmother, and all the places and people that help Kitty keep her mother’s memory alive.

New York City is bright and bustling and completely different from everything Kitty has known. As she adjusts to her new school, explores her new city, and befriends a blue-haired boy, Kitty wonders if her memories of her mother don’t need to stay in one place — if there’s a way for them to be with Kitty every day, everywhere.

With her wry, poignant wit, Kitty tells a universal story about the grief of losing a beloved family member, the fears of starting over, and the challenges of how to remake a family in this powerful, heartfelt debut novel.

My Review

When I agreed to review this book, I had no idea what I’d be going through when it came out. Reading a book centered around grief while grieving has been an interesting journey. A lot of things Kitty experienced really resonated with me. I loved the way the story shows different characters responding to grief in different ways, too. It’s really Kitty’s story, but around the edges of her own experience, we get to see other people wrestling with grief in their own ways.

This book is packed with a fantastic cast of characters. There’s Kitty’s older and often antagonistic sister Imogen, who knows all the things the cool kids know. There’s Kitty’s dad, treading water, trying to keep the family afloat and both be available to his girls but also shelter them from some of his own grief and fears about the future. So relatable. I loved Kitty’s spunky grandmother, with her strong opinions and fierce insights. And the wacky Mrs. Allison, the British baking star with her lovable dog, mothering everyone and fussing over them all with cookies and cakes. Something about all those people in a room together made those scenes really sparkle.

Kitty’s grief is real and raw and very relatable. I found myself nodding along to some of her observations and taking comfort in her refuge of colors. I loved the relationship between her and Imogen, with its sparks of tension and tenderness underneath. GLITTER GETS EVERYWHERE is a therapy-positive story, but it’s also real about some of the struggles of therapy. Sometimes things don’t make sense the first time you hear them. Sometimes things a therapist says don’t connect with you at the time or ever. But other times, it provides a vehicle for you to say things you didn’t know you needed to say or to hear healthy things you didn’t know would challenge what you believe.

All in all, I’m so happy I read this book. I love its tenderness and sadness and its surprising joy. I think readers who enjoyed CHIRP by Kate Messner or CATERPILLAR SUMMER by Gillian McDunn will love this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Kitty and her family are white and British.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity appears a few times. Strong British profanity appears a few times.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss on the cheek between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Kitty wonders what happens after someone dies and talks about sometimes feeling her mom present with her really strongly.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
One of Kitty’s friends mentions that his mom has a drinking problem.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support running this blog. I received a free copy of GLITTER GETS EVERYWHERE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: As Far As You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

As Far As You’ll Take Me
Phil Stamper
Bloomsbury YA
Published February 9, 2021

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About As Far As You’ll Take Me

Marty arrives in London with nothing but his oboe and some savings from his summer job, but he’s excited to start his new life–where he’s no longer the closeted, shy kid who slips under the radar and is free to explore his sexuality without his parents’ disapproval.

From the outside, Marty’s life looks like a perfect fantasy: in the span of a few weeks, he’s made new friends, he’s getting closer with his first ever boyfriend, and he’s even traveling around Europe. But Marty knows he can’t keep up the facade. He hasn’t spoken to his parents since he arrived, he’s tearing through his meager savings, his homesickness and anxiety are getting worse and worse, and he hasn’t even come close to landing the job of his dreams. Will Marty be able to find a place that feels like home?

My Review

I have mixed feelings about this one. Mostly, I think, I have mixed feelings about Marty as a character.

He has anxiety– and I thought that part was really well crafted. I felt like I was experiencing it with him, and definitely felt for him. I tend to love angsty musician characters, so I figured Marty would be a sure win.

Plus the oboe holds a special place in my heart, since I’m practically surrounded by oboe players. (My sister, my daughter, my former roommate, and my cousin all either play or played the oboe. Actually, both my sisters played, my youngest only briefly.) So I was super excited to see an oboe player. In a YA novel! Yay!

And I loved that the story featured such complex, twisty friendships. Marty and Megan is a great example. I feel like a LOT of people have had the experience where that one super close friendship we thought we couldn’t live without has some real, undeniable toxicity to it. Marty’s wrestling with how to feel about his friendship with her and the way his new friendships put that relationship into context was SO. Well. Done.

Despite that, I struggled with some feelings about Marty. He stressed about money and agonized over whether he’d be able to land gigs and stay in London, but then off he’d go with his friends and chasing down potential romance. He ignored his friends when they tried to tell him things he didn’t want to hear and seemed pretty comfortable using them. I thought he made a lot of selfish decisions.

Some of that made sense in the context of his being totally swallowed up by his romantic feelings, so I wanted to give him a break. All the breaks.

He does grow a lot through the story. I kind of wanted some of his epiphanies to happen earlier. Some things felt a bit crammed in to the last few chapters, and that didn’t really give me a chance to see him walk things out, which I think would have been really satisfying.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Marty is gay and has anxiety. His mother was born in Ireland. He comes from a conservative Christian family. Marty’s friend group is a pretty diverse group.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used roughly a few times per chapter.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two boys. Brief touching. One scene shows them undressed and leading up to sex. Brief kissing between two girls.

Spiritual Content
Marty’s parents are deeply religious Christians. Marty is pretty disparaging of their faith, for two reasons that are pretty interconnected. One is that he just doesn’t believe in God anymore. He also feels it’s been pretty hammered into him that who he is is a sin, which has been pretty damaging.

Violent Content – Trigger Warning for Homophobia
A person Marty cares about outs him as gay to people in his hometown. His parents offer support to him personally, but display some homophobic behavior to the LGBT community at large.

Drug Content
Marty and his friends drink alcohol together. Marty and another group member are underage at seventeen.

Note: I received a free copy of AS FAR AS YOU’LL TAKE ME in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes #2)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
Published February 14, 2017

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Last of August

Jamie Watson and Charlotte Holmes are looking for a winter-break reprieve after a fall semester that almost got them killed. But Charlotte isn’t the only Holmes with secrets, and the mood at her family’s Sussex estate is palpably tense. On top of everything else, Holmes and Watson could be becoming more than friends—but still, the darkness in Charlotte’s past is a wall between them.

A distraction arises soon enough, because Charlotte’s beloved uncle Leander goes missing from the estate—after being oddly private about his latest assignment in a German art forgery ring. The game is afoot once again, and Charlotte is single-minded in her pursuit.

Their first stop? Berlin. Their first contact? August Moriarty (formerly Charlotte’s obsession, currently believed by most to be dead), whose powerful family has been ripping off famous paintings for the last hundred years. But as they follow the gritty underground scene in Berlin to glittering art houses in Prague, Holmes and Watson begin to realize that this is a much more complicated case than a disappearance. Much more dangerous, too.

What they learn might change everything they know about their families, themselves, and each other.

Audiobooks and a Bit of Background

I’ve been having a ton of trouble sleeping the last several months. It’s like my body crashes really deeply for 4-5 hours and then I’m wide awake, brain whirring at top speed. I hate it because it makes me want to get up and do something useful, like lying there trying to go back to sleep and being unable to is such a huge waste of time. At the same time I know if I get up and do something, I’m more likely to stay up longer and that can really ruin my daytime life with kids and such.

So my solution has been to listen to audiobooks. It’s actually worked out really well most of the time. A lot of the backlist titles I’ve reviewed lately have been the result of audiobooks I’ve listened to while navigating those troubled nighttime hours.

My Review of The Last of August

Which brings me to THE LAST OF AUGUST. It’s been a while since I read A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE, the first book in the Charlotte Holmes series. If you’re unfamiliar with this series, the basic premise is that Sherlock Holmes and James Watson’s present-day descendants meet up at a boarding school and begin solving crimes together. I really enjoyed the first book, but I’m terrible at pursuing a series all the way to the end, so it has taken me a long time to get back to this one.

I liked THE LAST OF AUGUST a lot. Holmes and Watson have that dynamic duo thing going plus loads of romantic tension, and on top of that, a whole family of villains seems to be intent on putting an end to Charlotte’s family.

Some of the twists and turns caught me completely by surprise. I sort of expected that– since it’s sort of part of the Holmes charm to have the big reveal at the end where all the pieces snap into place. I felt like Jamie played a more active role in this book than in the first one (though it’s been a while, so I may be wrong), and I liked that he put some pieces together himself and took charge of a few things, even if they didn’t always go quite as he hoped.

Jamie and Charlotte together are heartbreakingly sweet. He can’t help loving her, and she is so cerebral and analytical and feels so broken beyond repair, but loves him in her own way, too. It’s one of those relationships you keep rooting for because they make each other better, and you just want them to keep making each other better until they’re somehow whole.

I’m hardly an avid mystery reader, but I think if you like Flavia de Luce books, this might be a great series to try.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Charlotte is from London. Jamie is white American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Before leaving school, Charlotte was raped. The incident is never shown, but it’s clear that she’s struggling to process the trauma. Sometimes she can’t handle being touched. Jamie is patient with her and respects her boundaries.

A boy and girl kiss in more than one scene. In another scene, a girl undresses in front of a boy. A vague recap lets readers know they did not have sex but had other sexual contact.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. One character is poisoned. More than one character is kidnapped.

Drug Content
Charlotte is a recovering addict. She’s tempted at a party where guests are using cocaine. Teens drink alcohol at a club and auction. (It’s legal at 18 where they are.)

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: The Gifted, the Talented, and Me by William Sutcliffe

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

The Gifted, the Talented, and Me
William Sutcliffe
Bloomsbury YA
Published October 13, 2020

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Indiebound | Goodreads

About The Gifted, the Talented, and Me

Fifteen-year-old Sam isn’t special. He’s not a famous vlogger, he’s never gone viral, and he doesn’t want to be the Next Big Thing. What he likes most is chatting to his friends and having a bit of a kick about.

None of which was a problem until Dad got rich and Mum made the whole family move to London. Now Sam is being made to go to the North London Academy for the Gifted and Talented, where every student is too busy planning Hollywood domination or starting alt-metal psychedelica crossover bands or making clothes out of bathmats to give someone as normal as him the time of day. Can Sam navigate his way through the weirdness and find a way to be himself?

Laugh-out-loud funny and instantly recognisable – not since The Inbetweeners has a coming of age story been so irreverent and relatable.

My Review

I really, really struggled with this book. Some of it is super funny. I laughed out loud more than once. There are a lot of references to penises, and I get that it’s a thing that does occupy the mind. It was just a lot, sort of the same joke over and over.

If you’ve read many other reviews of this book, you’ve probably come across some discussion of the queerbaiting content, so I want to talk about that first. Basically, what happens is this: Sam’s brother, Ethan, joins a queer band (every band has to have a “thing,” he tells Sam), so he tells everyone he’s bisexual in order to be in the band. It becomes increasingly clear that Ethan is not bisexual, but he continues to use the label so he can continue with the band. Which is pretty clearly queerbaiting, and totally wrong.

In the story, Sam continually tells Ethan that what he’s doing is wrong and is going to catch up with him. Ethan does eventually face some consequences for his actions, though we don’t get a firsthand response from any queer characters. He does eventually have to own up to his identity and is pretty miserable about how things end up. It’s not great, and I would still say that there isn’t really a moment when he gets called out on the behavior by queer characters or anyone putting into perspective how harmful the behavior can be. But it is strongly condemned in the story as wrong and deceitful.

During Sam’s callback for the school play audition, he relates the performances of other students in a pretty derogatory way. I felt gross reading that section because he was both unkind in the way he described the other actors competing for the part he wanted, but he was also kind of superior and snobby, and none of that was ever called out as wrong.

For the most part, I really liked the dynamics of Sam’s family, especially in the scenes where they’re kind of all having snappy conversations that kind of run over each other. That felt really true to the experience of a big family with lots of funny people in it. I wish that his mom hadn’t been quite so over-the-top and such a largely negative portrayal of feminism.

On the whole, there were lots of funny things in this book, but readers may find the constant penis joke/awareness to be too much and may be troubled by the presence of queerbaiting, even though it’s condemned.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Most characters are white. A couple minor characters identify as queer. Sam’s brother falsely identifies as queer.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently. Crude humor used frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Two references to sexual touching. Some vague references to hoping not to be a virgin until age 30.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Two boys appear to be about to have a fight.

Drug Content
One student has a house party with alcohol.

Note: I received a free copy of THE GIFTED, THE TALENTED, AND ME in exchange for my honest review. This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support the costs of running this blog.

Review: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

Book Review and Content, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , ,

A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes #1)
Brittany Cavallaro
Katherine Tegen Books
Published on March 1, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About A Study in Charlotte

The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

My Review

A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE has been on my reading list since before it hit the shelves. (I wasn’t cool enough to get a review copy, but I got a free audiobook version from the first week of Audiobooks Sync summer program.) So I’ve finally had a chance to read it.

Sad, terrible disclaimer: I’ve never read the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and I kind of wish I had read them before reading this book. I feel like I would have gotten more of a kick out of the moments which must be a nod to the classic original stories. But I very much enjoyed reading the book even without that insider fun.

I liked that both Jamie and Charlotte have some big flaws (Jamie’s anger management issues and big emotions; Charlotte’s addictions and inability to see past her analysis of a situation) which somehow make them a stronger team. While it’s not really a character-driven story, the relationships between characters evolve quite a bit as the story unfolds. Jamie must give up the idolized version of Charlotte from his childhood, and faces an opportunity to build a relationship with his dad (who has his own flaws) and step-family.

While I wish the language had been cleaner, I really enjoyed reading A STUDY IN CHARLOTTE. The murder mystery kept me on the edge of my seat, and the complex relationships and intriguing cast of characters led me to devour the book from beginning to end. This is a series I want to see through to the end.

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Cultural Elements
Charlotte is (of course) from London. Other characters from Connecticut.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some lusty comments from Jamie – things like noticing a girl’s curves or wondering who’s having sex. A boy makes lewd comments to and about a girl. Later we learn he sexually assaulted a girl (we don’t learn any of the details other than that she was not sober and did not consent.). Brief kiss between a boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Brief descriptions of a fist fight between two boys. A boy is discovered murdered by poison and snake bite. Someone attacks a girl and shoves a plastic jewel down her throat. A bomb explodes and injures some people. An unknown virus threatens to kill a boy if he doesn’t find the antidote quickly.

Drug Content
A girl takes Oxycodone and smokes cigarettes. Teens drink vodka at a weekly party. References to drug rehab and cocaine use in the past.