Nicola MorganRezensionen

Fieldnotes:
Edinburgh, 1828

1 Gruesome, Unfortunate Surgery
1 Tragedy Ending in Bankruptcy
1 Alcoholic Absentee Father
1 Winsome Little Sister
Sordid, Squalid Poverty

1 Burning Hatred for
1 Self-Important Surgeon
1 Secret Illegal Anatomy School
Inadequate Amounts of Not Quite Resurrection Men Burke & Hare
1 Self-Destructive Spiral

The Short Version:
I picked this up because of its Edinburgh setting and because it was (ostensibly) about Burke & Hare - a rather gruesome set of criminals from the 1820s. But while this was admirably vivid as a look at the squalor and misery of poverty at the time in Edinburgh, the actual plot just...didn't really work for me.

Robbie's mother died after (unanesthetized) surgery done by Dr. Knox when Robbie was only 8. Robbie blames Knox and when Robbie encounters him by chance 6 years later, he becomes consumed by his hatred and drive for revenge to the point of losing his job and neglecting his sister, sending them deeper into squalor - but he discovers that Knox is buying cadavers for an illicit anatomy school from Burke & Hare.

Fine...but somehow Robbie gets entangled working for Burke & Hare (why???) as a lookout and his path just keeps on crossing Dr. Knox who increasingly is shown to be just a person - self-important, but a skilled surgeon who plays the violin as Robbie loves to. Without really caring a jot for Robbie he ends up saving him from prison once and his life another time.

This kind of nuance should be interesting, but ultimately it just seems like the story has no heart. It seems like the sort of thing that would be assigned at school because there are a lot of tie-in subjects that could be discussed (history of medicine, ethics, body-snatching, maybe even some sociology), but in terms of plot - none of it really seems to drive the story forward and I found myself putting the book down more often than not with little drive to pick it back up.

A chilling sequel. The characters and their troubles are very real, and there were some really great thrilling bits. I also really liked Will's one sided struggle with not belonging. But ultimately I'm glad that it has a happy ending.

It is different from what i remember of when i last read it. However, still highly enjoyably.

A great historical novel that i think younger readers will be able to enjoy. Plus the story is semi-based on one of my favorite poems.

Really interested in reading the sequel.

A guide for teenagers (not specific to those with additional needs) looking at what stress is, the worries teenagers often experience and the ways to deal with and prevent stress and anxiety.

A good book, aimed at Teens and adults to explain what it going on in the teenage brain, biologically, and how that influences (drives!) teen behaviour. Another recommended read, although some chapters are more interesting than others. It contains a few psychological tests, which your teens may find interesting, as well as a good bibliography for further reading.½

I enjoyed following the story of Will and Bess, two young people thrown together under unusual circumstances. Will is the second son of a rich but cruel nobleman, and strong-headed Bess is the daughter of the highwayman featured in the famous poem "The Highwayman" by Alfred Noyes. I've always loved this poem so I found the story intriguing and the author did a great job weaving the poem throughout the story. Of the two protagonists, I found Will more interesting as he struggled with the importance of social status and the meaning of good and evil, right and wrong, although it did get a bit repetitive at times. However, I loved the 18th century English backdrop with all its turmoil and upheaval, and there was plenty of action to keep me reading.

This is a sister book to "Write A Great Synopsis", but this time the focus is on UK-style covering letters to help you net a UK agent. UK covering letters are a lot more laid back than US queries (by which I mean you won't get instantly rejected dun dun duuun if it's not perfect) but they're still important enough to stress writers out.

"Dear Agent" is a short, sweet, and to-the-point read that covers all the important questions, such as should I mention multiple books, being rejected, my pets, or that my mum liked it...

It also pays special attention to the tricky bits: that dreaded hook, how to write the bio section even if nothing very interesting has happened to you, and how to inject a bit of personality into the letter. It covers both fiction and non-fiction, multiple Points of View, and other sticky situations that can make the thought of summing it up in a letter more nerve-wracking than it needs to be.

If you're new to the submission process, or trying out the UK system for the first time after submitting in the US, then this is a great starting point. Authors who've been submitting in the UK or US will already be familiar with a lot of the advice, but the tips are still useful no matter how long you've been wading in the query trenches.

An odd little book, this: it's actually aimed at early teenagers, and I picked it up by accident. Set in the body-snatching period of Edinburgh, it features Burke and Hare (inevitably) and their sidekick surgeon, Knox. It's dark and gloomy and for the most part depressing, and I found the hero's eventual salvation a bit unconvincing. But it's well-researched, and for anyone with a school topic on, say, 18th. century medicine / surgery, it's a good narrative introduction.

I loved this book when I read it many years ago, and it's always stayed in my mind. I think I may have to pick it up again sometime.

Great, shocking beginning suck in to the child's mind and world, so that you are immediately on his side. Good evocation of 19th century Edinburgh - grimy, poor and full of crime. Would be excellent background for anyone taking History of Medicine for GCSE, as it deals with body-snatching, surgery and advances in medicine. Well-written and engaging.

This is such a beautifully written tale of the original boy meets girl story… but with a whole load of “what if’s” thrown in. But it IS more than that. Nicola Morgan creates such a great atmosphere in the novel, and it means you really relish and enjoy the book.

Near the beginning, when Jack meets Jess, he says to her: “there is no such thing as chance”.

Jack says:
“Here’s an example. This. Me hearing you sing. I didn’t know you existed but I needed you to. And I walked past that door at the right time. Past a soundproofed room. Where the door wasn’t properly shut. Invisible things came together to make it happen. Natural, physical things. Not chance, but definitely luck for me.”

It is brilliantly executed so that, each page you turn, a decision with the coin is made. And when the decision with the coin turns to the reader, that is when it gets really exciting. Now, there are several times in the book when it happens, and I am sorry to say that when there are 2 different chapters to read depending on what you landed on, I read both chapters. I did this because I wanted to see what both choices were, not to ruin the experience.

However, it did not stop my enjoyment of the book, and I truly believe that this is unique. The characters are, I have to say, well developed, and they are actually genuinely realistic in the things they say, how they move, and their actions and behaviour.

The great concoction of great characters, interesting plot and gripping events means that I completely recommend this book!

Rating
Plot: 8/10
Very interesting, and developed plot.
Writing Quality: 9/10
Very very good writing quality
Originality: 8/10
So completely original in the concept of the book, maybe not so much boy meets girl.
Characters: 9/10
The characters were very well developed and were likeable.
Descriptions: 7/10
Good amount of descriptions.

41/50 = 82%

This teenage fiction is highly readable, crossing over nicely into a quick adult read. Dual narrative is easily distinguished by font changes and is handled nicely – if you’ve read any dual narrative written by Robert Swindells, it is of that standard. Catriona (Cat) McPherson is a fourteen year-old athlete. In fact she’s an athlete with serious potential - into swimming and running and more recently, fencing.

Someone is watching Cat but she doesn’t know who or how and it actually takes her a while to notice. It was this aspect that gave the novel an authentic teenage feel, I felt Cat was written like the girl she was meant to be. She’s sulky and stroppy when her excessive training begins to get in the way of her life and she ignores her parents’ requests to not have an account on Phiz. Phiz seems to be an amalgamation of Facebook and Twitter but without any controls or administrators.

This novel is firmly pitched as teen crime fiction and it is actually quite engaging as an adult read. You’re never quite sure who the watcher is or why indeed Cat is being watched, although a perceptive reader will know towards the ending who it is before it is revealed. It feels quite a ‘real’ novel, you’re never thinking that something wouldn’t happen, which is nice; it’s firmly grounded in reality. Similarly, the characters seem as real as they can be with a mixture of class structure in the novel.

There are one or two moments where you wish it would just move on to the next step in the story but I don’t feel a teen reader would be thinking the same. I’d happily recommend this book to any readers enjoying a good crime story and I’d also look out this author for other material.

Some beautiful language in this book, and an interesting outsider's perspective on synaesthesia (since the narrator hasn't grown up with it, but only acquires it after a near-fatal bout of meningitis). However, what could have been an interesting plot all in itself (the MC learning to deal with his new sensory perceptions) is cluttered up with a modernized take on Faust involving super powers, a demonic character whose motives and allegiances are somewhat muddled, and the MC developing a creepy obsession with his sister. It's all explained -- sort of -- by the end, but the action-packed resolution seemed to come out of left field to me, and I was left more befuddled than satisfied, asking myself, "So what exactly is this book about?"Really I'd like to give this 2.5 stars -- halfway between "It was OK" and "I liked it". Prose excellent, plot not quite there.

Reviewed for the VPRC. This book contains lots of interesting information about the structure and function of the brain ( as much as we know right now as there is so much that science has not yet discovered about the brain.Very interesting book about the way the brain works and also about styles of learning. The language is pitched at children and is very light and sometimes humorous and always easy to understand.

A novel about cults; harmful ones in the vein of The People's temple Jonestown massacre cult. Matilda is hopeful that her time on a farm in the English countryside, will help her escape from her over-protective parents, make new friends and develop into her own individual. But while she is there, she comes under the influence of the "Beautiful People" who follow the man who looks like Jesus and drink something laced with the juice of a rare flower (one that causes them to follow and do everything he says.) Flash forward to the year 2029, and a little old lady is on a quest; one to bring the man who looks like Jesus to justice finally after what he did to Matilda and the rest of those drugged and deluded people on his farm. Rather harrowing, almost adult novel.

An interesting teen read about Edinburgh in the time of Burke & Hare and a kid with ambitions to become a surgeon.