quippe | Entries tagged with tom pollock

The Blurb On The Back:

Heartstream: The App That Allows You To Feel Everything

Amy Becker is a star. She’s used Heartstream to broadcast every moment of her mother’s illness. It’s the realest, rawest reality TV imaginable, and it’s everywhere.

On the day of her mother’s funeral, she goes home to find a fan of hers in the kitchen. She’s rigged herself and the house with explosives – and she’s been waiting to talk to Amy for a long time.

Amy is about to discover just how far true obsession can go.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Tom Pollock’s YA tech thriller is a needle sharp study in obsession that cleverly examines the benefits and disadvantages of social media and celebrity and which builds up a great sense of tension. His observations about fandom are spot on and, as always, he’s sensitive in depicting anxiety and mental health and although some of the plot points are a little soapy and the antagonists slightly under baked, it’s a strong read that’s worth a look.

HEARTSTREAM was released in the United Kingdom on 4th July 2019. Thanks to Thanks to Walker Books for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as Ingrid, his only friend. However, when his mother is found stabbed before an award ceremony and his sister is nowhere to be found, Peter is dragged into a world of espionage and violence where state and family secrets intertwine. Armed only with his extraordinary analytical skills, Peter may just discover that his biggest weakness is his greatest strength.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Tom Pollock’s YA thriller (released in the US as THIS STORY IS A LIE) is a twisting, fascinating affair that incorporates both espionage and speculative elements and a serious and sympathetic look at what it’s like to have a mental health issue to great and moving effect while conveying a love for the complexities of mathematics but, for me, there was one twist too many in the final quarter and the open ending left me a little frustrated.

WHITE RABBIT RED WOLF was released in the United Kingdom on 3rd May 2018. Thanks to Walker Books for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Pen’s life revolves around secrets: the secrets behind her three-month disappearance from school last winter, the secret cause of the scars that mar her face, and, most secret of all, her twin sister Parva: her doppelganger in London-Under-Glass, the city behind the mirrors.

Pen’s trying to forget Reach, Filius Viae and the Wire Mistress and get back to a normal life, but when Parva vanishes, she has no choice but to seek out London’s stranger side. And when Pen journeys through the mirror, she finds a world where scars make you beautiful and criminals will klll you for your face – a world in which Pen’s sister was keeping secrets of her own …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The second in Tom Pollock’s SKYSCRAPER THRONE TRILOGY is a stunning YA fantasy novel with strong themes of beauty, oppression and fear. The plot centres on Pen and her attempts to come to terms with what happened to her and my favourite scenes are those between Pen and Parva and how they feel normal around each other. Beth isn’t forgotten, however, and I enjoyed the way her plot moves on the overall arc while also dovetails in with Pen’s plot. The star of the novel though is undoubtedly London-Under-Glass, with its reflection of London’s geography, twisted notion of beauty and sinister hints at a totalitarian state. Pollock deserves praise for the scope, inventiveness and cleverness of imagination on display here and I’m on tenterhooks for the final book in this trilogy.

The Blurb On The Back:

Expelled from school, betrayed by her best friend and virtually ignored by her dad, who’s never recovered from the death of her mum, Beth Bradley retreats to the sanctuary of the streets, looking for a new home.

What she finds is Filius Viae, the ragged and cocky crown prince of London, who opens her eyes to the place she’s never truly seen.

But the hidden London is on the brink of destruction. Reach, the King of the Cranes, is a malign god of demolition, and he wants Filius dead. In the absence of the Lady of the Streets, Filius’ goddess mother, Beth rouses Filius to raise an alleyway army, to reclaim London’s skyscraper throne for the mother he’s never known.

Beth has almost forgotten her old life – until her best friend and her father come searching for her, and she must choose between the streets and the life she left behind.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Tom Pollock’s debut YA novel, the first in a trilogy is a stunningly creative tale filled with wonderful imagery and fascinating characters. It’s one of the best YA fantasies I’ve read in years and certainly one of the best debuts of 2012. Read it. You’re in for a treat.

THE CITY’S SON will be released in the UK on 2nd August 2012. Thanks to Jo Fletcher Books for the ARC of this book.