The Mountains of Instead

Championing fiction as an escape from pandemics, politics and bad TV.

Trust No Agent (Review: Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance; B. Halpin and E. Franklin)

Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin Bloomsbury 2011
Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers are a teen dream team. Stars of their own hit show, both they and their alter egos Jenna and Jonah live in a whirl of music, makeup and young love – both on and off screen. At least…

Sing, Sing, Sing (Review: The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney)

The Mockingbirds Daisy Whitney Little Brown 2010
Alex is a student at the progressive Themis boarding school, a liberal institution whose administration believes that treating it's teenage students like mature adults will encourage them to act likewise (because mature adults are all such paragons …

And The Stars Look Very Different Today (Review: Across The Universe; Beth Revis)

Across The Universe Beth Revis Razorbill 2011
Space, as well as being the final frontier, would appear to be the next big thing in young adult fiction. James Frey saw it when he approached Jobie Hughes with I Am Number 4 and I am sure that the publication of the far superior Across The Universe will h…

Her Own Personal Jesus (Review: Heavenly/Penitence/Absolution by Jennifer Laurens)

Heavenly/Penitence/Absolution Jennifer Laurens Grove Creek Press 2009/2010
Zoe is eighteen, in her senior year of high school and not having the easiest time of it. Her five year old sister is autistic and while her parents are loving, they are also constantly distracted by the strain of looking afte…

Just To Break My Fall (Review: Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols)

Going Too Far Jennifer Echols MTV Books 2009
I'm not always a fan of contemporary fiction – often I find it either too grim or too silly and so tend to avoid it in favour of less recognisable worlds. In fact, one of the last contemporary novels that I read was Jennifer Echols Forget You. While I…

All That Glitters (Reviews of The Other Countess and The Queen's Lady by Eve Edwards)

The Other Countess and The Queen's Lady Eve Edwards Razorbill 2010/11
I have oft been heard to say that I do not enjoy historical fiction but, having been proved wrong time and time again, I may have to start qualifying that with the statement that when it is done well it can be jolly good fun. W…

IMM (#32)

In My Mailbox is a meme created and hosted by Kristi over at The Story Siren with inspiration from Alea at Pop Culture JunkieAll book titles link to further info at GoodreadsAll books in this IMM post have been received for review/bought/gifted/ loaned/UK Book Toured/NetGalley-ed/acquired throu…

Lord Of The Dance (review: Dancing Jax by Robin Jarvis)

Dancing Jax Robin Jarvis Harper Collins 2011
It was a dark and stormy night... Well, not really but that's the general atmosphere in the opening chapters of Robin Jarvis's Dancing Jax an odd tale that, suitably, takes it's readers on a long and meandering dance through some strange and dep…