Book Review: The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

The Blurb

England,1976.

Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.

And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined…

My Review

My thanks go to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

If you haven't read The Trouble with Goats and Sheep yet, then go get your copy right now and put at the top of your To Be Read pile!

I'm a little late to the game as this was published last year. It was a title I kept seeing everywhere, and I finally decided to discover what this curiously monikered story was about.

And it is such a delightful read. Set in the hot summer of 1976, being a child of the 70s myself, I found it to be full of nostalgia. From reminders of the old Nationwide programme to Kays Catalogues, it's a beautiful portrait of suburban life in the 1970s. 

There are many fascinating characters depicted, but my favourite are the main characters, 10 year old Grace and her friend Tilly. Grace narrates much of the book, but some chapters are told in the third person POV by some of the adults in the story, to reveal more of the secrets a 10 year old girl would be unable to comprehend. It's a brilliant study of attitudes back then too; the general mistrust of anyone who appears a little different; and the uncomfortable embarrassment when an Indian family move into the street.

I loved the way Grace idolised the older girl Lisa, and tried to emulate her style. I think we all had that one person we looked up to and tried to be.

Grace decides she and Tilly are going to solve the mystery of the disappearance of one of their neighbours, Mrs Creasey. But first they have to find God, and they are having trouble locating him. 

There's not much more I can say apart from go and read it!

You can buy The Trouble with Goats and Sheep from Amazon, Waterstones and other retailers.

Blog Tour: Lost in Static by Christina Phillipou

Sometimes growing up is seeing someone else's side of the story.

Four stories. One truth. Whom do you believe?

Callum has a family secret. Yasmine wants to know it. Juliette thinks nobody knows hers. All Ruby wants is to reinvent herself.

They are brought together by circumstance, torn apart by misunderstanding. As new relationships are forged and confidences are broken, each person's version of events is coloured by their background, beliefs and prejudices. And so the ingredients are in place for a year shaped by lust, betrayal, and violence...

Lost in Static is the gripping debut from author Christina Philippou. Whom will you trust?

Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC and the opportunity to participate on the Blog Tour.

University life. A chance, to make a fresh start, to make new friends - and new enemies. 

The story is told in first person point of view; with each of the major characters getting to put forward their version of events. It's cleverly done; once I realised that each scene was being described by each character in turn, so there was a little bit of a sense of travelling back in time to the beginning of each scene/incidence. It was interesting to see each person's perspective, making it easy to see how misunderstanding can happen so easily, and proving that we cannot know what is going on in someone else's mind. Never assume you know what someone is thinking!

It's interesting to see how different people react to others when placed in a rarefied situation like university. It was an uncomfortable read at times, with characters not reacting as I presumed, but this is in no way a criticism; it makes for a great read with it's twists and turns.

A great debut novel, and I look forward to reading more by Christina.

Lost in Static is available from, amongst others, Amazon UK, Amazon US, and direct from the publisher, Urbane Publications.

Author Bio

Christina Philippou’s writing career has been a varied one, from populating the short-story notebook that lived under her desk at school to penning reports on corruption and terrorist finance. When not reading or writing, she can be found engaging in sport or undertaking some form of nature appreciation. Christina has three passports to go with her three children, but is not a spy. Lost in Static is her first novel.

Christina is also the founder of the contemporary fiction author initiative, Britfic.

You can connect with Christina on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+.

Book Review: Armadillos by P K Lynch

Aggie is fifteen, a ‘sub’ from a ‘sub’ family, one of Texas’ downtrodden. Her father and brother enact that ‘sub’-ness on her, week in, week out. She has only the vaguest notion that there is something wrong with the abuse she endures and instead dreams of the outside world.

And then one day, Aggie walks out. But, like the armadillos that flourish in Texas’ barren landscape, she is a survivor.

In her escape, she gravitates to those who are just as maltreated as her. They offer Aggie the sense of family, albeit a thoroughly dysfunctional one, that she’s been searching for. But when she gets embroiled in a crisis involving stolen money, Aggie soon realises there are some problems you can’t run away from.

Thanks to Legend Press for the advanced reading copy.

From the outset, Aggie's story is heartbreaking and shocking, but told in a matter-of-fact manner rather than being melodramatic. Brought up to believe that her family's behaviour is normal, Aggie knows she doesn't like it, and leaves.

Armadillos is a tough story but easy to read, written beautifully, with Aggie's Texan drawl in my head from the beginning. Despite her sheltered upbringing, she proves to be an intelligent kid who knows how to get what she wants. She doesn't like conning people, but it's a means to an end for her.

Then she meets a girl called Freak, and is introduced to a new 'family', all with their own problems. 

It's a brilliant tale of survival, of friendship and self-discovery. The words flow naturally on the page, drawing us in to Aggie's world of hurt and pain, and her relationships with the larger than life yet utterly believable supporting characters.

I really did enjoy reading this book, and highly recommend it.