Review: The Turtle Boy

The Turtle Boy by Kealan Patrick Burke

Ok, so I've had a productive reading day so far - finished a Dickens novel it's taken me the best part of a month to get through and then powered through a novella by the name of The Turtle Boy. If I remember correctly, this was a freebie on Amazon, so I don't feel as though I've wasted my money.

I'm not entirely sure how to describe this book, I didn't know what to expect when I picked it up and I'm at a bit of a loss about how to write about it now.

It starts with two boys at the start of their summer holidays, who encounter a strange and deformed kid near a local pond. Another local girl later reveals she's also seen the weird boy and he gets the name the Turtle Boy - because the pond is apparently home to a load of turtles (there's a bit more to it than that, but basically that's where it comes from).

The whole book is told from the point of view of 11 year old Timmy and, as an adult, you quickly realise his best friend Pete is being physically abused by his father. The first half is relatively straightforward and then it goes, well, just a bit surreal.

There's a big storm, Timmy's dad goes out to have a talk with Pete's dad after he's rude to Timmy and his mum, tension builds, the power gets cut, he's been gone ages - you get the idea. So, Timmy, his mum and his friend Kimmie go to look for his dad, only he's not at the house. Then (obviously) Timmy realises they've gone to the pond. This is where I started to find this story totally bizarre.

Timmy runs off to 'save' his dad, only to stumble out of the storm into a bright summer's day and witness the murder of the kid they dubbed the Turtle Boy around a decade earlier by the pond. The assailant doesn't have a face, which made me initially think Timmy had just fallen asleep and was having some weird dream - or maybe had succumbed to hypothermia or something and drifted into a coma. But no, apparently he's just found the ability to see the dead (and their memories? I wasn't quite sure on that point).

Fast forward back to the future, the storm and the pond. Timmy's dad is fighting with Pete's father, who pulls a gun, at this point, the ghost of the dead kid appears, summons an army of turtles and sends them off to apparently attack Timmy's dad (I think the implication is that he may have been the man who murdered the Turtle Boy, but it's hard to say),Timmy intervenes and instead this hoard of marauding reptiles turn on Pete's dad, who, incidentally, has just killed his son.

The ending seemed incredibly rushed, as if the author had got a bit bored of the story and decided to just stop (although he has published other books about Timmy, so maybe I just need to read some of those to find out more). There were questions left hanging that, I imagine, are meant to make you pick up the next book in the series straight away - but I just don't want to. I don't really care that Timmy can now see the dead, or that his dad might be a murderer. I'm also slightly confused as to how he suddenly has the ability to see ghosts, while Kimmie, who also saw the Turtle Boy, apparently doesn't (again, maybe all is revealed in the next book?).

In all honesty, I don't think I'll find that out. I'm just going to chalk this one up to an experience and move on, thankful that I only spent a couple of hours reading it rather than a couple of weeks! On the plus side, while the story was strange at best and a little hurried, at least the author's writing style didn't irritate me, I'll say that for him. Sadly, his characters just didn't grab me and I didn't feel I had enough time to get to know any of them enough to actually care what happened in the end.

Would I recommend this book? Probably not, unless you particularly want to read about a hoard of vicious turtles - I've always found turtles to be quite friendly personally, but maybe that's the difference between marine and freshwater species, who knows? It's a very quick read, and it's free and those are its two best selling points for me!

Review: The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

I have to admit that, until the BBC announced its adaptation of Dickens' unfinished work, I'd never heard of this book. But, having watched the version broadcast around Christmas, I felt compelled to read it for myself and draw my own conclusions.

For those who, like me, were ignorant of this Dickens novel, here's a bit of background. Dickens died before completing The Mystery of Edwin Drood, aptly leaving it as a genuine puzzle. There are plenty of theories about what actually happened to Edwin and even societies dedicated to this end! But, ultimately, none of us can know what Dickens intended for his title character.

That said, I think the BBC did a pretty good job with their adaptation and even if you disagree with their ending, I felt they managed to stay true to the spirit of the characters in the novel.

So, to the actual book. Firstly, it's a Dickens novel, so if you don't get on well with his style of prose, you're probably best to leave this one on the shelf (personally, I think you'll be missing out, but that's just me). One of the things I enjoy most about his writing is the description, its detail and the wonderful ways he has of painting incredibly vivid pictures in my mind. A personal favourite from this novel is the passage about Mrs Crisparkle's cupboard and its contents - wonderful!

As to the story, it's compelling, which makes it somewhat frustrating to see it end before you've really got a handle on the mystery. The basic premise is that young Edwin Drood disappears leaving little trace, with his uncle John Jasper (who's definitely got a dark side) assuming murder and blaming Neville Landlass, a relatively new arrival to the town of Cloisterham. His accusations are based on quarrel between the two men some months earlier.

Throw into the mix the wonderful character of Mr Crisparkle - an advocate for Neville - Rosa (Edwin's betrothed) and her guardian Mr Grewgious, as well as Neville's sister Helena and the intriguing Mr Tartar and you've got an excellent cast of characters to carry you through the story. I much prefer it when you get halfway through a book and realise you actually care what happens to the characters. I genuinely worried about what would befall Rosa when Mr Jasper came to visit her alone. I really wanted Neville to be able to prove his innocence and I was grinning from ear to ear when Mr Crisparkle stood up to the odious Mr Honeysuckle.

That's what sets good writing apart from the mediocre and downright rubbish - that decades or even centuries after something's been written, you can still identify with the characters and feel as though you've developed a relationship with them, after all, emotions don't change.

So, would I recommend reading The Mystery of Edwin Drood - absolutely, especially if you enjoy Dickens. Do be prepared for a very deflated feeling when you reach the end of the prose, though. The story is beginning to gather pace and then you're left with nothing but your own ideas about the outcome - not something you can blame anyone for, but frustrating nonetheless.

Books vs. The Kindle

Until recently, I've been totally unqualified to enter this debate, having never owned or even used a Kindle.

However, my Christmas present from my boyfriend this year was one of Amazon's finest e-readers - largely because he's fed up of me trying to cram our hold bag full of books every time we fly back out to Egypt.

I'm not going to lie, I've always been a sceptic, largely because I love books so much. Seriously, everything about books is awesome (except maybe their weight when you're limited to 20kg) - their smell, how they look on the shelf, the way a page feels when you turn it, I could go on.

That said, I can fully appreciate the practicality of a Kindle, especially when you travel or live overseas (like we do). They are amazingly portable and I decided I'd put mine to good use just as soon as possible.

Firstly, it was really easy to set up/charge/register - I was impressed by how little time I had to charge the battery for and it lasted me for almost a month - in which time I managed to get through three and a half books.

I went to visit friends in Manchester for a week and, with my Kindle in tow, had plenty of reading material for the train journey, not to mention a much lighter bag! I've also been amazed by how many free publications there are, so far I've mostly gone for some classics that I've been meaning to read for ages, but I'm sure I'll add more modern titles as time goes on.

But then we reach the point at which the Kindle stops being amazing - the price of books. Now, I know authors deserve to get their money for what they've written, I'm not disputing that, but £5 seems a lot to pay when I'm not going to have anything to physically show for it.

This is where I think their cheap 'Kindle book of the day' deals are going to come in really handy - but, let's be honest - it will probably restrict the publications I buy for my e-reader.

The bottom line is, if I want to read a book, I'm going to buy the actual book, unless it seems like a good deal. This is where I come unstuck, rather than fully embracing this highly useful piece of technology, I'll continue to fill my shelves with titles, for no better reason really than that I love having books to look at and to pick up whenever I want - or to lend.

Lending books is another problem I have with the Kindle, actually. They've added a function where you can share your books with other Kindle users, but usually only for around 2 weeks - so if you're friend isn't going to read it straight away, you're a bit screwed. It also doesn't help if you've got a monster title like War and Peace, for instance, as you're unlikely to have the time to power through it that quickly.

Although, I suppose that flags another plus point on the Kindle front - if you have a massive book, you can take it wherever you go without having to worry about its size being an obstacle.

Despite my misgivings, I've been very impressed with the Kindle and have come to love it in its own way - there's something satisfying about setting off on a long journey knowing you've got dozens of books to read and that they all fit on to one, handy device. In my current situation, it's certainly a bonus - especially if you end up with a diverted flight like I did in January and spend 9 hours sitting in Athens airport where there's very little to do except read a good book!

Is the Kindle going to replace books in my life? No, I just like owning books too much to be totally honest. Is it going to be a very useful addition to my life and fuel my reading? Most definitely.

Would I recommend it to anyone? Well, if you travel/commute and enjoy reading, I definitely think it's worth the investment and there are some great free sites out there if you want to download books without paying - like Project Gutenberg. It's always worth keeping an eye on the Amazon deals too, as you never know what you might find!