Book Review: The Soterion Mission by Stewart Ross

This is my second review as a member of Team Fox - a fantastic group of Teen Book Reviewers that Curious Fox has set up! I definitely had mixed feelings about this book - and it ended up being possibly my most posted-note filled book!

Does the Soterion hold the key to saving civilization?

In a post-apocalyptic world when no-one lives beyond their teenage years, the mysterious Roxanne arrives in Cyrus's village, fleeing the barbaric Zeds. She claims to be on a mission that can save them all, but can she be trusted? Cyrus joins her in her quest to search for the legendary Soterion - a place where books and knowledge are hidden away - but the Zeds are determined to get there first.

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This book had a rocky-beginning for me. I was thrown straight into a world I didn't feel was explained - which made it even harder to grasp as the novel continued. I was also under the impression I lot vocabulary was over-used but, I was pleasantly surprised when I began to enjoy book and the notes I made became more positive. It had intriguing characters, excitement and danger - as well as a lot of action thrown in. The pacing of this novel was really strong, never did I feel like my thoughts were drifting anywhere else and they were always focused on the novel. There was a small cast of main characters - some I felt I knew well but others I thought could welcome more of a back-story.

When Roxanne arrives in Cyrus's village, running away from the Zeds, there's an instant added plotline of who to trust. What if you go along believing Roxy's lies? Or what is it's in fact all truth and no one believes her? Roxanne was: bewitching, interesting, sincere and intelligent. She was able to out-wit the people she was fighting against and be brave enough to carry on when anyone else would have given up. It's a great thing to be able to admire the characters you're reading about - even though I would have liked to see more of a development in Cyrus's and Roxy's relationship. She turned up - Cyrus fell in love because of her beauty. Cyrus proved to be a loyal protagonist, and a fighter. And Taja wanted nothing more than to be remember; not to died and be forgotten, which brought a relatable part of our lives into this book.

This whole novel is set around the fact people only live until they are into their 19th year. This would mean by now, many of the people reading this novel would only have a few years left alive. This fact is really hard-hitting, knowing that if we were living in Stewart Ross' world our lives would really be over before they had begun. Women would be expected to be having children - when really we feel we're still children ourselves.

The second half of this book I admit was much stronger than the first with an emotional ending where I had tears in my eyes. I think knowing the characters and their past more would have made me feel more connected to the story. I felt ignoring the parts that I found frustrating really helped me immerse myself in the novel and I ended up being excited to go and pick it up to see what would happen and whether they would discover the Soterion.

Overall, I don't know whether this book was for me. Some of the scenes brought too much detail and made me feel uncomfortable, other parts needed more. I felt like there were missed opportunities to write in a powerful, dramatic scene where we could get to see more of a personal side to the people who we are following on this adventure. My problem with the continuation came around when a few pages before they were discussing having no books and not being able to read when, this appears:

"They should meet either the river or Highway 24"

How do they know of the existence of Highway 24? There are no maps to point it out.

3 Stars - This book takes a while to immerse yourself in, and definitely has it's flaws yet, still enjoyable. Although, it has a few gory moments so, I suggest this for older Teenage readers.

Book Review: Diary of a Mall Girl by Luisa Plaja

This is my first book review for Team Fox! I'm so excited to be a part of an amazing team of bloggers - and it's great to be able to discuss the same books, as we're all receiving the same books for review!

Fifteen-year-old Molly actually lives in the residential wing of her local mall, and mysterious twins Jewel and Jasper have just moved into the flat upstairs. As Molly grows closer to them, she becomes more determined than ever to find out their secret – and so do her other friends. Will their prying spoil Molly’s chances of happiness? - Synopsis from Curious Fox

 

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Diary of a Mall Girl was perfect summer-read: relaxing, quirky and fun! This was a laugh-out-loud book with interesting characters and a plot that kept you on the edge of your seat. Diary of a Mall Girl is told through diary entries written by the main protagonist Molly whom, at the beginning of the novel, says her life is "absolutely over." The diary entries were such a refreshing way of telling this novel, instead of a simple first-person narrative. I loved how Plaja set out the diary entries so you could have Molly slip off half-way through writing it because she needed "a moment to collect her thoughts." This was such a realistic touch to add to this novel and I fell in love with Molly's character. As for her 'so-called friends' I would definitely be willing to go out shopping with her on a Friday night.

 

The setting - The Lillies eco-mall was a fantastic choice. I loved how it was used and being able to imagine all of the boutiques and shops. There were places that kept appearing throughout the novel that I could picture and while the girls were out shopping, I couldn't help but want to walk the mall in their shoes.

 

Molly is someone every teenage girl to relate to - apart, in my case, from the love-triangle thrown into the plot. There were things I could recognise from her world that are completely evident in mine. For a start, I struggle with friendships and trying to fit-in: then there's the fact of exams that the teenagers in this novel are revising for. 

 

I loved the other characters in this novel. Jewel and Jasper were perfect for creating suspense as well as having interesting personalities and lives I wanted to know more about. Jewel was a secretive yet smart character, who was really intelligent and observant. I loved hearing what she would say to Molly in terms of advice but also how inexperienced she was when it comes to social-situations. I think this made her character much more realistic. The romance between Molly and Jasper was something that I was rooting for - and when it finally worked out, I couldn't help but smile. They were your typical teenage-couple but also had their own problems to work through. I couldn't help loving how they always seemed to be in a wrong-place, wrong-time situation. Molly having to think about her feelings for Jasper and find out how to interpret them was a lovely thing to see. It was something all teenage girls can relate to: struggling to work-out how they feel. And I'm glad to say Molly was no different!

 

Ameera and Wendy I found always wanted attention. They didn't like the fact that Molly was anything more than a 'Mall girl' or someone to keep them company when the other couldn't. I was thrilled to see her finally leaving them and finding Jewel. They always believed they were superior to Molly and had the right to know and interfere with everything in her life.

 

The one problem I did have with this book: the reason I rated it 3.5 stars, was the fact I felt the narrative was too young. At the beginning, when I read the first few pages I was under the impression that the main character was eleven(pre-teen) not the fifteen year-old Molly was. I would have loved to see a more mature side to Molly and at times, I found that I struggled to read the arguments between the three friends because they were cringe-worthy.  I don't know whether it was just bad-timing when it came to reading this novel. I enjoyed it, and would love to read a sequel but found I couldn't rate it any higher after recently reading 'The Bone Season.'

 

Rating: 3.5 Stars

For ages 11+

 

Thank you to Curious Fox for providing me with this book in return for a review.