Eve AinsworthBesprekingen

CW: Attempted suicide after bullying incident

Duckling is the nickname given to Lucy by her father. Now 30, the name has stuck throughout her life. Lucy has always felt a little awkward, like she doesn't fit in anywhere, and keeps herself very much to herself. Her life consists of her flat, her cat, Boris, her job at the bookshop working alongside the manager, Jimmy, keeping an eye on her dad, and watching her favourite TV detective, Columbo.

When her neighbour, Cassie, unexpectedly leaves Lucy to look after Rubi, her 7 year old daughter, and doesn't come back when she says she will, Lucy finds herself thrust into a different kind of life, one where she realises that if she's going to reunite Cassie and Rubi she needs to open up and let people into her life.

This is Eve Ainsworth's first adult novel. Whilst the themes are quite gritty, I think the author's experience in writing for children keeps the tone still fairly light and brimming with compassion and empathy. Although primarily a story about Lucy's transformation from metaphorical duckling to swan, there's also a detective story to follow as she, Rubi and other helpers try to work out why Cassie has left Rubi for so long. The characterisations are a delight, right down to Boris and Colin, Cassie and Rubi's snuffly little pug.

What a lovely book Duckling is. I enjoyed it immensely. Pushing Lucy out of her comfort zone makes for a really uplifting story that I found thoroughly satisfying and totally charming. It felt fresh and different and I thought it flowed beautifully. It was a real pleasure to read and I hope Ainsworth writes more adult novels. I'll definitely read them if she does.½

4 stars, I liked it and I thought the portrayal of the illnesses was done well and I love how at the end, the author mentioned websites talking about the diseases. I loved both main characters and the writing pulled on my heart strings.

Poppy is having trouble coping with changes to her home life - her Mum and Dad have split up and her mother's new boyfriend and his daughter who is two years older than Poppy have just moved in. Things are also not going well at school with Poppy becoming the target of some online bullies which escalates into a real life scene in the cafeteria at school. She also misses her Dad so when he promises to take her to a sold out soccer match she is ecstatic. She gets all dressed up and waits at the corner and waits and waits....

True to life account about how a mindset about one bad thing in your life can colour everything else and cause your mood to spiral down. Poppy is a believable character is all her reactions to what is happening in her life and this novel is a good illustration of how NOT to cope with change, although this is resolved at the end.

Barrington Stoke novel. Violet's mother has broken up with her boyfriend and is taking the separation hard. She drinks to cope but Violet notices more and more empty bottles in the trash. When Violet speaks to her, she claims she can stop any time but is this just another little lie she tells herself? When it seems that Violet is doing all the hard work taking her little brother to kinder and making his lunches she wonders if she should tell someone. But Violet is afraid that they will call Social Services and split up the family so she lies to her grandparents when they ask after her Mum. Then something dreadful happens.

Quick easy read. It was great to hear both sides of the story and understand how the bullying was irrational and got out of control.
The ending was on a bit of a cliffhanger and I felt too sorry for the bully and annoyed by the victim, which isn't great.

I enjoyed this story of Marty and Daisy, two teenagers with big family issues. Marty's mother suffers from debilitating depression, since the death of her husband, while Daisy's younger brother has muscular dystrophy, and takes up most of his parents time. Both teenagers feel alone, drowning in events they can't control. They bear their issues silently, refusing to burden others until they meet each other at a young carers' group.

Told from both view points in alternating chapters, I was soon engrossed in both Daisy's and Marty's stories. However, my greatest sympathy was for Marty, who I felt was more developed of the two characters. Their gentle romance was sweet and refreshing. A touching read.

This is the second book I've read by this author, and she has a way of taking complex situations, and making them approachable for young people. In Tender, Eve looks at the important subject of young carers - Marty has been living with his mum's deteriorating mental health since the death of his father, whilst Daisy has a severely ill younger brother, and exhausted parents trying to cope in their own way.

Both of these teenagers are trying to persuade everyone else that everything is fine, and Marty in particular is so adamant that he doesn't need help from anyone, even though we can see he's close to destroying himself.

They meet at a young carers group, when Marty is forced there by social services. They form an acceptance of each other, and help each other to understand their situations. This does develop into a romance, which I personally felt wasn't needed.. their friendship would have been enough for me.

Marty and Daisy so easily found their way into my heart, and so their experiences can be difficult to read about, but this is an important subject well handled, with an overlying message of support and hope.

This was interesting because it examined both sides of the bullying issue. On the plus side:
1. Both Kez and Jess were realistic characters;
2. I could believe the bullying;
3. The back stories of the two main characters were believable.
But for some reason I failed to connect with any of the characters. The whole book had a formulaic feel and the resolution was simply silly. Plus, I think, the whole book is grounded so firmly in its English setting that it would fail to appeal to a wide audience.
"Blue" is so much better.

This was a quick read about teenage bullying. I liked how the author used social media at the start of each chapter and that there were dual narratives to tell the story. Both the bully, Kez, and the victim, Jess, had a voice. However, even though Ainsworth tried to show that every story has two sides, I don't think it quite worked. I never felt any sympathy towards Kez despite her home life. As for the ending, it was too trite to be believable. This could have been a really powerful book but, unfortunately, it didn't reach the mark.