(From http://www.pingwings.ca/the-girl-below/)

Review copy provided by the publisher in conjunction with TLC Book Tours

This was a very absorbing read, one that I had a tough time putting down. The story takes place when Suki returns to London after living in New Zealand for a decade, and I immediately got the impression that Suki was struggling with all aspects of her life: friendships, relationships, job prospects, family, etc.

What really drew me in were the early chapters that flashed back to her childhood, to a night involving a party thrown by her parents and to a trip to the air raid shelter in the garden. Her tenuous grasp on these memories gave off an unsettling atmosphere, partly because, as glimpsed through Suki-as-a-child, she doesn’t quite understand all that she sees and hears, and so as a reader, I was filling in blanks and found I couldn’t explain some of the things that Suki remembered. I also found myself questioning the reliability of Suki’s memories, wondering how much faith I could put in the accuracy of these remembered events, and I liked that uncertainty.

I loved the movement between Suki’s past and present, and the way it drew out the story. Present-day Suki bounces around the couches of some old friends before settling in with an old friend’s family: Peggy was Suki’s neighbour in her parents’ old place, and Suki winds up staying with Peggy’s daughter, Pippa.

Pippa is married to Ari and has a son, Caleb. They end up asking Suki to stay and keep an eye on Caleb while taking Peggy to Greece to visit Ari’s family, and partly because she has nowhere else to go, Suki agrees. Pippa hopes that Suki can talk some sense into Caleb, as she senses that they may be similarly troubled.

Things become stranger and stranger, and the supernatural vibe to the story begins to pick up, culminating with Suki and Caleb going off to Greece with Pippa’s brother when they learn that Peggy’s health is even worse than they thought.

I loved the spooky, supernatural atmosphere that built throughout the book, and the descriptions of Greece and Ari’s family home were so vivid and wonderful. I also liked learning about Suki’s past through flashbacks, particularly the chapters that focused on her childhood and on her relationship with her parents.

There were a few things that frustrated me about Suki, like her drinking and drug use, and her strange relationship with Caleb. However, while I didn’t like these some of the things that Suki did, I think they helped to demonstrate how poorly she coped with her feelings of isolation and loneliness. She wasn’t always likeable, but I felt for her and wanted her to find happiness. It’s difficult to like a character who does unlikable things, but I didn’t see Suki as a bad person, and I think that’s a credit to the author that she has written a complex character who I couldn’t help but root for through it all.

I didn’t quite get all the answers I wanted out of this book, but maybe others will be able to read more into things than I was. Overall, I thought this was well-written and entertaining, and I recommend it. I would be interested to read more by Bianca Zander in the future. ( )

After the death of her mother, eighteen year old Suki Piper left England to follow her father to New Zealand. Here she existed for the next ten years, drifting through her life with few goals or any real ambition.

Now, in 2003, she has returned to London. But London has forgotten her.

Suki may be twenty-eight, but she still has the lack of maturity that she had exhibited ten years ago. This made her a difficult character for me to feel much empathy towards, as I could not help but watch her drift through her London life – overstaying her welcome and distancing herself from people, and wish that she would at least make an effort, instead of just waiting for things to happen.

Of course, this is a major plot point, as there is something in her past that is keeping her emotionally trapped. She has regular flashbacks to an incident that began with a party when she was eight, where she witnessed her babysitter intimately involved with an unknown someone. The memory haunts her, but not as much as the air raid shelter beneath her apartment block. What actually happened down there that had such a profound effect on Suki’s life?

Zander writes very well – her descriptions are vivid, her characters well developed – even if you do somewhat want to slap some of them and tell them to “get on with their life”. Her language is evocative and lyrical, and a wee bit haunting. Despite the regular flashbacks – both in chapters and those that Suki was experiencing in the present, the story flowed well.

Peggy, the aged neighbour, amused me and Suki’s relationship with the other characters, particularly Caleb, made me feel a little uncomfortable at times, as intended. Zander also displays a strong understanding of grief and emotion and writes a compelling tale.

What did disappoint me, however, was the ending. I was all braced for a grand, possibly quite gruesome reveal, something that I thought Zander had been foreshadowing, and when it did not come I could not help but feel slightly cheated. Overall, I did enjoy this book and found it kept me intrigued and I admire the author’s style. It should be interesting to see what she comes up with next.

(Review copy received courtesy of Penguin books, via Booksellers NZ). ( )

I received this book from the Amazon Vine program. I expected to like The Girl Below: A Novel. It sounded like just the sort of light book that I sometimes enjoy. I think a bit of supernatural always adds to a book. I opened the book and jumped in. I read, and I read and I kept reading. No matter how far into this book I read, there was no story there. To me, this book had all that is necessary to build a story, but it never actually happened. There are characters, some of them with potential, but in my opinion, non were fully developed and not a single one is likable.

I like characters that I can get behind, and root for. I like a story that flows and builds and brings us to great conclusion. Suki comes across as not just damaged but lazy and unwilling to do anything to make her lot in life any better. Her mother showed terrible judgement in a dire situation, which may have been part of her becoming this way. The Dad was just plain unlikable for so many reasons. Suki's long ago friends did try to give her a hand up, but she abused the help they gave and took advantage of them. The single family that did seem to go over and above to help her to reestablish herself in her old home was over the top awful, each and every one. There was simply no one that stood out or become attached to. Again, no favorite character emerged.

Quirky is good, I like quirky a lot. There are a lot of quirks in these characters but it didn't help. These characters just did not appeal. Further, the story did not flow and was very simply dull. I am certain that there are readers that have enjoyed this book. I have seen the star ratings. So you might want to go on and give it a try. For me, when I am purchasing a book, poor ratings do not keep me from trying a book that otherwise looks as if I will enjoy it. I hope this is the case with you. Readers are an odd lot and we have definite loves and hates and I respect those whose views do not fall in line with my own. I simply hate to write a negative review, but in this case, I had no choice. A Vine book must be reviewed. This was selected from the Last Harvest, as it certainly looked interesting, but I was very disappointed. ( )

The Girl Below is an intriguing book that picks you up and takes you away from the moment you look at the cover. It’s all absorbing; from the moment I pondered what the girl on the cover could be locked in (or out of) to the point where I’ve finished the book and writing the review. Bianca Zander should be commended on an impressive book that really pulls you in, twisting and turning genres and settings to a gripping conclusion.

The novel’s protagonist is Suki, who returns to London after leaving shortly after her mother’s death. She’s lived in New Zealand (such a rare setting – more please!) for the last ten years, somewhat aimlessly. She thinks that she can return to London and pick up a purposeful life again. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Her friends have moved on – they’re now serious, with jobs and boyfriends – and Suki falls into drifting again from share flats to people’s couches. She returns to her old flat and visits her old neighbour, Peggy. This causes two things to happen – for Peggy to rekindle her relationship with Peggy’s daughter, Pippa, and her family and to reignite memories of a wild party from her youth. Suki is still terrified of the bomb shelter in the backyard (where she was trapped during this party) and moving in with Peggy fuels her fears. Why is this scene so important to Suki?

Zander makes this novel change from finding oneself to having us question Suki’s mind and motives. Is she all she seems? As Suki’s memories become stronger and scarier, Gothic elements start to shine through until I wasn’t really sure what was real and what was fantasy. The ending pulls it together and whether you agree with the rationale or not, you have to admit that it is powerfully done. Zander creates a sense of atmosphere that is broody, close and almost another character.

Speaking of characters, I found Pippa’s son, Caleb a great character. As a teenager, he’s not scared to get to the point rather bluntly nor push his limits. He’s the antithesis to Suki, who skirts around things and is a powerful force in helping her to confront her memories. Peggy is also wonderfully eccentric with her flat full of costumes and strangely heavy fur coat. Pippa, who we first meet as a devil may care teenager, is wonderfully juxtaposed as the modern day worrying mum – what happened to the carefree girl? Her character shows us the passage of time and how it changes us, whether we like it or not.

A wonderfully atmospheric book debut (so much so that I didn’t want to read the last section at night!)

Thank you to Bloomsbury Sydney for the ARC.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com ( )

An odd book... I couldn't put it down, but I never really enjoyed it, and the main character Suki became more and more annoying to me as the story progressed. I was impressed with Zander's narrative style, and the way that she combined the routine, day to day stuff with just enough creepy surrealism. But things meandered on for so long, and I didn't find the ending satisfying... seems that after all of Suki's various issues, it wrapped up a little too neatly. ( )