'Riverkeep' by Martin Stewart

*This review will contain spoilers!*

'"Your hands are shaking, Wulliam."

Wull shrugged and shifted his grip on the mug.

"It's cold."

Pappa laughed, releasing a stinging breeze of lakoris tobacco.

"That's no' cold. Cold is when yer eyeballs scratch when ye blink, when it hurts to breathe. Ye'll be a Riverkeep soon. Ye'll get used to that quick enough."

"I'm no' Riverkeep yet," said Wull. Never, he thought.'  

Wull's father is the Riverkeep, but on his sixteenth birthday he has to take the oars and become the Riverkeep himself. His birthday is still a few days away and he's certain he's going to be able to avoid his responsibilities somehow... Until his father gets dragged into the river by a bohdan, which possesses him and starts slowing killing him from the inside out.
Wull hears that the mythical beast the mormorach has resurfaced. Having researched the bohdan he knows that part of the mormorach can cure those who have been afflicted, so he puts his father in the bata - the Riverkeep's trusty boat - and sails down the Danek river towards Canna Bay, where the mormorach is rampaging.
Along the way, he acquires some companions. There's Mix, who was stowing away on a boat with some pirates and decides to stowaway on the bata instead. He also finds Tillinghast, a homunculus with a death wish, and Remedie, who's cradling a wooden baby called Bonn.
The ragtag group head along the river, getting up to all kinds of crazy antics on the way, but Wull's Pappa is still deteriorating. Will he be able to get to the mormorach in time?

Oh, if only there was something good to say. Everything about this was terrible.
I don't say that lightly. Normally I can find at least one positive aspect in any novel, but I'm actually scratching my head and feeling completely baffled about how this even got published (let alone why it's shortlisted for the YA Book Prize!).
Okay, I guess I liked the concept. I was expecting it to be more like Claire McFall's 'Ferryman' (a book I also hated, hmm...) as I'd assumed the Riverkeeps were pulling corpses out of the river to welcome them to the other side rather than just because there was an alarming amount of dead bodies in that stretch of water, but I guess someone has to do it!
I appreciated the fact that Wull was trying to save his father, rather than it being a parent attempting to save their child. It was nice to get that flipped on his head, and to see Wull attempting to fill his Pappa's boots as he unexpectedly became Riverkeep early. But Wull does a terrible job.
As you can tell by the fact that the gang get up to some crazy antics, the plot gets distracted regularly. There are needless diversions which just leave you groaning and wanting to tear your hair out. Till is infuriating, making everything harder, and if a characters only job is to interrupt the plot and make things harder it proves that the author doesn't know how to write decent obstacles.
Wull doesn't go through any real character development. He faces a bad guy, and the bad guy just happens to fall backwards, onto his own knife, killing himself in the process!
Of course! That's so feasible!
He faces the mormorach and the bohdan inhabiting his Pappa decides to switch into the mormorach, so he avoids certain death. Till also sacrifices himself to save Wull's life, despite the fact that they've nearly gotten each other killed multiple times because they're both so stupid.
I absolutely adored it when Wull was trying to save Till from certain death, and he said "He's a pain an' he's rude, but he's my friend". No, he's not. Every single thing that Till does is directly against Wull's wishes, they argue all of the time and they have nothing in common. That's not friendship.
Okay, I lied about Wull having no character development. He's hardly affected when his Pappa dies, which I guess is a huge metaphor for growing up and saying goodbye to things - like having your own dreams, and cherished family members.
Meanwhile Remedie, Bonn and Mix run into the night, never to be seen again. That's closure for ya. Mix only becomes relevant two sentences before she disappears for good, so I feel as though it's their adventure was written with an open ending to allow for a sequel, to which I say PLEASE GOD, NO.

I hadn't heard of 'Riverkeep' until it was featured on the YA Book Prize shortlist, and I knew after the first couple of pages that it wasn't the kind of book I'd normally read.
Reading this has proven how stubborn I am. I wanted to give up so many times, but I persisted and I can categorically say I haven't hated many books more than I hated this one.
I need to learn how to DNF. 

Non-fiction books perfect for YA readers

Recently I've noticed that non-fiction for young adults seems to be getting more popular. There are definitely more titles on offer, that's for sure!
As someone who has been reading a lot of non-fiction for the last couple of years, I thought I'd take the opportunity to showcase ten of the best titles I've read and talk about ten of the books that I just can't wait to get my hands on.
I don't review non-fiction titles in-depth because there aren't many I don't like, but that means I forget to tell you guys all about the ones that I've deeply loved.

This is non-fiction at its best: not only are they educational and informative, they're also entertaining and absorbing.

10) 'Mind Your Head' by Juno Dawson

I'm cheating by recommending 'Mind Your Head', because I haven't actually read it completely yet. I got about halfway through, and it featured some advice that I'd never heard before and helped get me into a better place, so I decided to save the rest of the book in case I needed a pick me up in the future!

9) 'Being a Girl' by Hayley Long

Both 'Mind Your Head' and 'Being a Girl' are illustrated by Gemma Correll, and that's what attracted me to this title in the first place: I only read it last year, so at 20 I knew nearly everything featured already! I read both the UK and US versions so that I could compare and contrast them, which was fascinating - the US versions celebrated a lot of inspirational women I'd never heard of before, which shows how you only learn some aspects of history by being part of the population of that country.

8) 'PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions From Ordinary Lives' collected by Frank Warren

PostSecret is an ongoing mail art project in which people write confessions on postcards and send them in. This means it's perfect for young people to read: not only does it put your worries and fears into perspective, it's an easy and fast read. 

7) 'You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)' by Felicia Day

I didn't know much about Felicia Day when I picked up this book, but my friend told me I'd love it and she was right. Felicia paved the way for geek girls everywhere, so I owe her a lot!

6) 'Ctrl, Alt; Delete: How I Grew Up Online' by Emma Gannon

Continuing on with the theme of women on the internet, I absolutely loved Emma Gannon's reflections on growing up online. You'll laugh, you'll cringe, and you'll see yourself reflected in every page.

5) 'Everyday Sexism' by Laura Bates

I want this book to become required reading in schools. It's such an honest exploration of the difficulties that women face every day just because of their gender.

4) 'I Call Myself A Feminist'

This features essays from women under 30, so it's very relevant to young readers - even more so when you discover it has a contribution from Louise O'Neill!  

3) 'Girl Up' by Laura Bates

Everything Laura releases is gold. I couldn't resist recommending another of her releases: they're both utterly wonderful, and if you know nothing about feminism or why it's necessary, this is the perfect place to start. 

2) 'Bad Feminist' by Roxane Gay

You won't be able to stop yourself laughing out loud while you read 'Bad Feminist'. Roxane Gay is a hilarious writer, but she's not afraid to tackle serious topics too: there's something in this collection for everyone. 

1) 'Doing It!: Let's Talk About Sex' by Hannah Witton

Hannah's book is the inspiration behind this post. I finished it yesterday and I ADORED every single page, and it's another book that I want to recommend to everyone! She's open and easy to relate to: I just want her to be my best friend.

Now, for the non-fiction releases that I NEED to read RIGHT NOW:

10) 'Jane Austen, the Secret Radical' by Helena Kelly

If you're told to read classics but you think Jane Austen's boring, you just need to learn more about her. I haven't read this just yet, so I don't know how dense it is, but it definitely looks appealing. 

9) 'Hunger' by Roxane Gay

I absolutely adored 'Bad Feminist' (as you can probably guess by the fact that I just recommended it!) and I can't wait to read more of Roxane's non-fiction writing. 

8) 'I Am Malala' by Malala Yousafzai

I'm fascinated by Malala's story. Anyone who can go through what she did and come out stronger on the other side is an inspirational role model.

7) 'The Gender Games' by Juno Dawson

I love Juno Dawson's novels and I love non-fiction, so combining them is my dream. I can't wait to read Juno's observations on gender, because she definitely knows what she's talking about.

6) 'Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World' by Rachel Ignotofsky

Historically, women's contributions to science have been attributed to their male colleagues and brushed under the carpet. It's about time someone gave them the recognition they deserved. 

5) 'Bad Girls Throughout History' by Ann Shen

I love the art style on the cover of 'Bad Girls Throughout History'. I'm excited about this for the same reason I'm looking forward to reading 'Women in History' - I want to learn about more women who've done amazing things but aren't appreciated or widely known about. 

4) 'It's All In Your Head' by Rae Earl

'It's All In Your Head' was only announced this morning, but I NEED to get my shit together so it's going to offer me some helpful advice. 

3) 'Girling Up' by Mayim Bialik

Who doesn't love The Big Bang Theory? Not many people know that Mayim Bialik, who plays Amy, actually has a PhD - she doesn't just pretend to be smart, she's the smartest person on the show! I think this is going to be a brilliant title: women who work in STEM are fighting a losing battle, so they need more encouragement. 

2) 'Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls' by Elena Favilli

'Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls' was funded through IndieGOGO, raising 1689% of its target, so it's safe to say that this was highly anticipated! It tells the history of inspirational women as though they were bedtime tales, but because they're completely true it's extremely educational.  

1) 'Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World' edited by Kelly Jensen

This collection is stuffed to the brim with contributors that I admire: Roxane Gay, Nova Ren Suma, Kody Keplinger, Siobhan Vivien, Amandla Stenberg... Need I go on? I know for a fact that I'm going to absolutely love 'Here We Are', I just need to get hold of a copy!

Are you a fan of non-fiction? If so, leave your recommendations down below - I can't wait to check them out!

'The Smell of Other People's Houses' by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock

'I remember my dad saying that sometimes you can be inserted into another person's life just by witnessing something you were never really supposed to be a part of.'

'I can't stop remembering the ways things were back then.'

The novel starts with a prologue narrated by Ruth, who's looking back at 1958-1963: before her father died, before her mother went AWOL, before Ruth and her sister Lily were sent to live with their strict Catholic grandmother.

Ruth is only one of the four narrators we follow, and we follow her as she loses her virginity to her boyfriend, Ray, who dumps her for the new girl just before she finds out she's pregnant.
Dora is living with her best friend's family, escaping from her abusive, alcoholic father and the mother who failed to defend her.
Alyce wants to be a dancer, but she's going to miss the auditions for college because she's spending the summer helping her father and uncle on their fishing boat.
Hank and his brothers, Sam and Jack, are stowing away on a ferry which they hope will take them to a place far, far away from their mother and her new boyfriend. It all seems to be going swimmingly, until Sam disappears...

There is nothing bad about this book. I was emotionally invested in all four of the narrators, and I didn't get bored during any of their viewpoints. I liked the fact that it switched between them fairly regularly because I wanted to know what was going on with the other three character's story lines, but I also wanted to stay with each of them. Within a couple of chapters they all felt like friends, and I would have happily read the entire novel following any of them.
I've never read a book set in Alaska before, and I adored the attention to detail as Bonnie-Sue built the landscape and the scenery from the ground up. The description of the flood that the characters experienced when they were younger was particularly artful: I live in an area of high ground so I've never lived through a flood, but it evoked all of my senses (particularly the sense of smell: my nose was wrinkling up just thinking about the musty, mildewed dampness!). I also adored the references to the leaves on the trees, as Alaska is stereotypically described as a barren landscape with nothing but snow - it's nice to get a feel of the place from someone who actually knows it. It's an #ownvoices novel, as Bonnie-Sue herself is from Alaska and grew up around the time that the book is set: in the questions and answers section at the end of my edition she shared that she'd borrowed some of the stories from people she knew growing up, and it's obvious because it's utterly realistic.
Normally I would give spoilers and go into what happened to each of the characters, but the charm of this book is seeing how it all develops so I'm not going to do that. Just know that all of the stories are intertwined, and even if someone seems like a background character at first you should keep them in mind. It's breathtakingly beautiful, and I find it hard to believe that this is a debut novel. Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock was born to write, and I need her to release another book NOW.

I only wanted to read this book because it's not often I encounter a character with the same name as me. I've actually only met one before, and they were a background character, so to actually meet an Alyce with a point of view perspective was awesome.
Would I have picked up this book if it hadn't been for that? I don't know. But I am SO GLAD that Bonnie-Sue decided to use my name on one of her characters, because it's helped my discover one of my favourite books of all time.
I borrowed this from the library, but I'm definitely going to have to purchase my own copy. I read it in one sitting because I was that hooked by the writing style and the plot, but I wish I'd savoured it and really enjoyed every word. I've only just returned it, but I already want to read it again!