by Raj K Lal | Feb 22, 2016 | Book Reviews by Raj, Diversity in Writing, YA Books, YA Writing
I’ve just finished reading Alex As Well by Alyssa Brugman (New York: Henry Holt & Company, 2015, originally published in Australia by Text Publishing Company) for a YA Writing Course I’m on at the moment, run by Keris Stainton. Alex As Well is a novel about the...
by Raj K Lal | Jan 23, 2016 | Book Reviews by Raj, Female Protagonists, Olivia Levez, The Island
The Island is a Young Adult début novel by Olivia Levez, due for publication in March 2016. The story is about a troubled teenaged girl, Frances Stanton, or Fran, as she sometimes allows herself to be called. Fran is a complicated person, one who is often not seen...
by Raj K Lal | Jan 12, 2016 | Book Reviews by Raj
Jonathan Taylor’s novel Melissa (Cromer: Salt, 2105) is a multi-faceted novel on the impact of decay and loss, of the complexity of events leading up to these, as well as looking at what happens in the aftermath of such events. Anyone who has experienced loss,...
by Raj K Lal | Jan 8, 2016 | Bobby Nayyar, Book Reviews by Raj, Glass Scissors, Limehouse Books
In Glass Scissors, Bobby Nayyar, of Limehouse Books, has shared personal and intimate memories, lots of pain and honesty – like telling everything to a total stranger you think you’ll never see again, but who sits and listens intently as you speak. There’s a lot of...
by Raj K Lal | Jun 5, 2014 | Blog, Book Reviews by Raj, Diversity in Writing, My Writing, Reviews
I wrote a guest blog about finding a character I could relate to for Leila Rasheed, who writes books for children. It’s about finding a character we can relate to, and one which stays in our memory long after reading the book. I first met her when I was on the MA in...
by Raj K Lal | Nov 7, 2013 | Book Reviews by Raj, Reviews
It is surprising that Mother’s Helper by Maureen Freely was first published in 1979. It could have been published this year. The subject matter is still relevant today; perhaps even more so. A would-be patriarch, Bob Pyle, struggles to maintain control over his...
by Raj K Lal | Mar 26, 2013 | Book Reviews by Raj
In very few words, Rosanne Rivers conjures up a new dystopian world which is peopled by vivid characters. It is a dystopian world where debts have to be repaid; a world where city states are isolated and enclosed. It is a world governed by a few powerful Shepherds who...
by Raj K Lal | May 18, 2012 | Blog, Book Reviews by Raj, Links, My Writing, Reviews, Writing Tools
West of No East by Bobby Nayyar packs into a small book many of the issues facing people in multicultural, contemporary Britain today. It tells of difficult relationships, be they marital, friendships, work or parental. Difficult economic times increase pressures on...
by Raj K Lal | Mar 31, 2012 | Blog, Book Reviews by Raj, Writing Tools
This review is the result of a writing exercise: write a book review in one hundred words or less. Boston-born Meg Rosoff‘s multi-award winning debut novel has wide appeal. Wise-cracking fifteen year old Manhattan girl, Daisy comes to visit her English country...
by Raj K Lal | Mar 16, 2012 | Blog, Book Reviews by Raj, Inspirations, My Writing, Writing Tools
Image courtesy of Tindal Street Press, and permission from Candi Miller. Salt and Honey by Candi Miller is an epic saga posing as a small book which deals with issues of major importance not only in Africa but on a global level too: persecution of ethnic minorities;...
