The Comeback Season, Jennifer E Smith

The Comeback Season by Jennifer E Smith reviewed by Izzy

What is this book about?

The last place Ryan Walsh should be this afternoon is on a train heading to Wrigley Field. She should be in class, enduring yet another miserable day of her first year of high school. But for once, Ryan isn't thinking about what she should be doing. She's not worried about her lack of friends, or her suffering math grade, or how it's been five whole years since the last time she was really and truly happy. Because she's finally returning to the place that her father loved, where the two of them spent so many afternoons cheering on their team. And on this -- the fifth anniversary of his death -- it feels like there's nowhere else in the world she should be. And of course, a boy is involved.

Who should read this book?

Anyone who has previously loved the work of Jennifer E Smith, or is a big fan of the Cubs. Sarah Dessen fans will love the work of Jennifer E.Smith

How long is this book?
256 pages, quite a short book.

Marks
Story Line: 7/10
Well written: 4/5
Enjoyablilty: 3/5
Overall: 14/20

Star Rating: 3 Stars

Question 1. What character would you most like to have tea with?

Ryan was a really interesting character to read about. Like most teen novels she came with her own big bag of problems. However usually as the reader, you feel you know a lot about your protagonist and she's just closed off with the people they interact with. For some reason I almost felt like Smith created a character who was closed off from everyone including the reader. I'd quite like to have tea with Ryan just to get to her open up.

Question 2. What character would you most like to throw tea at?
Sydney. She may become a "better" person but she annoyed me for the large majority of the book and I don't let go of my grudges that quickly.


Question 3. What do you think of the cover?
For a photo cover, I'm tempted to say I like this cover. It's actually really sweet. Smith doesn't have me converted that easily though.


Question 4. What do you think of the title?

 I really like the title "The Comeback Season," and obviously it has a double meaning in the book which I like. It's not as good as "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight," but to be fair to Smith I think that's my favourite book title of all time.

Question 5. Favourite quote!
“Hi,' he says.
'Hi,' she says back, and then to her great surprise, she begins to cry.
'You know,' Nick says as he hands her a tissue from the bedside table,' for all this talk about how you don't cry, you sure are sprouting a lot of water.”
Overall: For a really, really simple book I didn't quite get the ending. If what I think is happening, what Smith seems to suggest, I'm not a very happy young lady. However, Smith's writing is again one of my favourite things to read and reminds me most of what I love about 3rd person writing. I am getting so excited about "This Is What Happy Looks Like." Only another month to go! (At time of writing- March 2nd)

What did you think of this book? What would you like us to review next?

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, reviewed by Eleanor

Author: Goodreads/Twitter/Website
Publisher: Harvill Secker
Pages: 387
Buy this book: Amazon uk/Amazon com
Rating: 3.5 stars

What is this book about? In 1886, a mysterious travelling circus becomes an international sensation. Open only at night, constructed entirely in black and white, Le Cirque des Rêves delights all who wander its circular paths and warm themselves at its bonfire.

Although there are acrobats, fortune-tellers and contortionists, the Circus of Dreams is no conventional spectacle. Some tents contain clouds, some ice. The circus seems almost to cast a spell over its aficionados, who call themselves the rêveurs - the dreamers. At the heart of the story is the tangled relationship between two young magicians, Celia, the enchanter's daughter, and Marco, the sorcerer's apprentice. At the behest of their shadowy masters, they find themselves locked in a deadly contest, forced to test the very limits of the imagination, and of their love... GOODREADS

Who should read this book? I don't think this would appeal to anyone over 14/15.

Would you have tea with the protagonist? Yes, although she was a little boring, her magic is pretty cool.

Would you fall for the main love interest? No.

Would you want to 'strain' the main antagonist? There wasn't really one antagonist but instead various conflicts between characters. I wouldn't strain any of these though.

Were the characters three dimensional? Definitely.

Would you like to have tea in a cafe at Le Cirque des Rêves? Yeeeah, and one of those cinnamon things they sell.

Do you like the authors flavour of writing? Yes.

Was the writing strong or weak? Very strong.

Was the ending to your taste? A very tasteful ending, although I was left a little confused (in a good way)

If this cover were tea, would you drink it? I think that this cover is pretty and goes with the story well, so yeah I guess.

Favourite Quote?
"Now the circus is open. Now you may enter"

Overview: When you start reading this book you have no idea what is going on, and you feel this way for just about.. the whole way through. Yet this is what makes this book so special. The characters are interesting and alive and I found myself enjoying all of their little stories until they eventually all intertwined into this magical ending. Another thing I loved about this book was that it goes into second tense for a couple of scattered chapters, a tense which is very rare in fiction at the moment but that really did work! This is a great fantasy read and it's set in a wonderful world.

Have you read this book? What did you think?