I had high expectations for this YA novel and in some ways it didn’t disappoint. The writing was highly-tuned, and the premise was great. Unfortunately, I just didn’t ‘get’ the characters – especially Grace, which meant that the whole love story fell flat. I’ve been trying to work out why it didn’t satisfy me, and I think it was her lack of development. It felt as if she didn’t grow or learn – that she was fully-formed at the beginning and stayed that way.

The film rights have been optioned for this so it will be interesting to see how it will be translated for the camera. A good director could squeeze a masterpiece out of this one.

The Hunger Games was excellent – I found Catching Fire even better – so good that I couldn’t wait to find out what happened on every single page and now I’m disappointed that I’ve finished it. The novel has everything – clean writing, rounded characters, love, fear, horror, meaning. If I could write something this satisfying, I would die happy.

But I didn’t like it as much as How I Live Now, which was one of the best books that I read last year.

Meg Rosoff has real talent and an eye for the quirky, yet it felt as if she had bashed this one out and in doing so, didn’t have chance to fully discover the true essence of the novel. I wonder if she was under pressure from her publisher to produce a fast follow-up so that she could ride the crest of her initial success?

I am willing to accept that screenplays can differ in part from the book and still work – The Shining is a good example, but ‘I am Legend’ took it a step too far.

The central message of the book is about perspective and Neville’s gradual realization that he is, in fact, the bogeyman rather than the mutants. His legend is that of the killer who murders people in their beds while they sleep. It is a dark story, without a happy resolution save perhaps the end-knowledge that the human race may not be as doomed after all, but simply changed.

It was obvious from a third of the way in, that the studios were not going to honour the essence of the novel . Instead, they made a slow blockbuster which only hinted at the humanity of the mutants and glorified Neville as a saviour of mankind. The only speech which came close to expressing the core of the original was the monologue about Bob Marley believing in love and peace.

Cop out.

I feel slightly negative giving this a wishy-washy review because this book is good in many ways. The writing is fast and sharp, and the plot isn’t that bad.

The problem with Altered Carbon, was that it didn’t give me any pause for thought. Yes, the central idea of personality download and ‘re-sleeving’ was fascinating, but it felt as the concept wasn’t explored fully. Morgan writes the action so thick and fast, that sometimes it felt as if I was being thrown too quickly from one situation to another. Too many people, too many sub-plots. Maybe I just like my subtlety too much.

Sci-fi mixed with crime mixed with noir. It’s a cybergeek’s dreamread. If you enjoy full-on testosterone with a dash of intelligence, then this one is for you.

This book really freaked me out when I was younger so I wasn’t sure if it would have the same impact now. I’m glad to report that it did. Alan Garner really knows how to insinuate the supernatural.

I loved this book of short stories – especially the ones about Nathan. He is absolutely one of my favourite authors and I am v.excited as we’re going to get to meet him next week at a signing of his new book!

This started off so well. It had all my fave ingredients – a big mysterious house with fantastic grounds and hidden corners, an old diary, a boy finding his way. I expected an Enchanted Castle/Moondial type of story, but unfortunately it turned into something much weaker than I anticipated. It felt as if the author got bored and that the editor wasn’t getting her to tighten up enough.

The plus points are the conservation issues at the heart of the novel and also Hussey’s descriptions of the natural world. I wouldn’t say it was a classic though.

Glad I caught this on the last day of the exhibition. I discovered that I like the big, bold graphic stained glass effect Gilbert & George in small doses, but not in big dollops. Being the traditionalist, I actually preferred much of their early work – pastoral scenes, collectable etchings, young be-suited men wandering in empty houses.

The later stuff has it’s place, but for me, it seems that they mainly work their subjects around breaking taboos. They’ve done sex, excrement, christianity, fundamentialism, terrorism. Where can they go to next? Soft-focus florals would really break the mould.

I allowed myself a rare guilty pleasure yesterday and spent the whole day reading this book.

The writing is marvellous – dense, yet efficient and the characters are built incredibly well, especially Gideon Mack who despite his odd experiences, remains a sympathetic protagonist.

The story is very well-constructed. I have always been a fan of British legend & myth so it’s a joy to see Robertson covering this subject so well. There are so many questions raised throughout – some are answered, but many are not, especially the role of religion in today’s society which is debated at length in the novel.

A must-read.