Ok I admit the only reason I’m putting Blacklands as my first review on here is because I won my copy. I never win anything so I was quite chuffed. It was a competition through ‘The TV Book Club’ website to win a signed copy of Blacklands. I have been watching the TV Book Club which has gotten better as the series has progressed. They are making a few more changes to the format in time for the summer series so hopefully any problems they have had should be ironed out by then.
I will get round to reading most of the books featured in the series but blacklands wasn’t originally going to be one of them, it has a child serial killer in it so I knew it would make for some disturbing reading. But a few nights ago I found myself in the mood for something darker so I picked it up.
“I found the whole concept of this book a fascinating one. If a child was presumed to have been murdered by someone who is now in prison but the body was never found, how would this impact on this family on future generations?
Stephen is a boy of 12 who has a very unhappy home life. He lives with his mother, brother and grandmother. Stephens Uncle Billy was murdered many years ago before Stephen was born but the impact of this can still be felt on the family. In Stephens’s child logic, if only he could find Billy’s body then perhaps the family could at last find some kind of closure.
There are a lot of good things about this book, at times it’s a real page turner and it’s a very quick, easy read. I found the children’s friendships realistic and I could go along with Stephens’s logic. Stephen as a character I loved. I really felt for him and his situation and I just wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and feed him chicken soup.
But unfortunately this book ended up going for the 'Big Hollywood' ending which it almost made it laughable. The story and the characters were good enough that the author really didn’t need to do this; she should have just stuck with the family side of this which was an intriguing idea instead of turning the book into a cheap thriller by the end.
I would recommend this book to anyone as up until the end I really enjoyed it.
Verdict 3/5
Posted By Jess
I liked this book even though it seemed implausible. I hope u r enjoying Cutting for Stone, I loved that book.
ReplyDeleteHey there. Welcome to book blogging! I stopped by because you are my 100th follower. I feel like I should send you a prize. ;-) I like the idea of a husband/wife book review blog. Are you going to sign reviews so we know who's reviewing what?
ReplyDeleteHappy reading and happy reviewing.
Diane - I have to admit when I started reading Cutting for Stone I was thinking 'OK this is good but what's all the fuss about' But now its all started to click into place and I'm beginning to really enjoy this and see how clever it is.
ReplyDeleteC.B.James - we have sorted out the 'signature' now thanks, a little bit confusing though. I did notice I was your 100th follower (I was expecting a virtual banner to float down my screen)although I've been reading your blog for a while now.
In terms of prizes I'm 100th on your blog and your 1st on mine, perhaps we are even Stephens on this count LOL
I agree with you on this one. It had some fantastic sections, but the ending was very cheesy. The premise is very good, but I didn't find the letters realistic. It wasn't as good as I hoped it might be.
ReplyDelete