I’m sharing another instalment of my Mini Review Mondays, the most recent of which was the other week. In case you haven’t seen any of my previous posts, I do ‘mini’ reviews of books that I’ve previously read and am now ready to share my full thoughts about.
First up, I’d like to talk about Traumaland by Josh Silver. Thank you to Rock the Boat for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Seventeen-year-old Eli has been in a near-fatal car crash. As the anniversary looms, his therapist and family struggle to help him deal with the fall out. The accident has left him emotionally numb, with no memory of the months following the crash.
Desperate to feel something again, Eli winds up at an underground club called Traumaland. But this is no ordinary nightclub. Here he joins crowds of other emotionally numb people, all seeking to experience a new thrill by entering virtual reality simulations of nightmarish scenarios through the points of view of various characters.
When he enters the story of a boy called Jack, he discovers a darker truth to the club. A truth that sets Eli on a dangerous journey to find the source of his own trauma.
Publication Date: 8th May
CW: violence, gaslighting, manipulation, injury, blood
My Thoughts:
Traumaland was the type of book that lingers with you. It is thought-provoking and thrilling in equal measure, especially in its exploration of the exploitation of trauma for entertainment through dramatic narratives. Silver’s writing is compulsive and interrogative, diving deep into the central themes and characters.
I really enjoyed Silver’s debut duology with its brilliant characters and heartfelt, nuanced exploration of mental health issues and homophobia with a twisted, dystopian conversion camp. Traumaland continues that trend with a compelling story that is layered and complex with fresh twists. It reminded me of Black Mirror with the thematic exploration of technology and the exploitation of trauma, as well as an ending that leaves you desperate for more. The way things like the true crime industry mine stories for drama and clicks and neglect the real people involved involved is a sickening aspect of our society and yet we become complicit as viewers and consumers of similar narratives. Silver sits in this ambiguity well, never going for the easy answer and instead letting the characters and readers puzzle it out for themselves somewhat.
Of course, this is greatly benefited by excellent characterisation that jumps off the page. Eli and Jack have been pulled into something terrifying and their story is fractured, told through different timelines and perspectives. Eli sits with us for most of the story, trying to put together the puzzle pieces of that fateful night together. He is deeply passionate and loving but with a wall up for protection. Initially he is on somewhat of a self-destructive spiral, not sure where he fits or what his truth is. The quest for the truth will cost him everything and certainly changes him fundamentally. His voice is so gripping and authentically raw that you cannot pull yourself away as he goes further down the rabbit hole.
Traumaland is a wonderful start to what promises to be another fantastic story from a bold and exciting voice in YA.
Next up, I’d like to talk about The Other Girl by Emily Barr. Thank you to Nina Douglas and Penguin Random House Children’s for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Two girls meet on a train journey.
One of them – privileged, chaotic – is heading to an exclusive Swiss rehab centre following months of partying and living wildly.
The other – who couldn’t be more different – is down to her last penny, running away.
When they get off the train they are both pretending to be the other. Just for a short period, of course. Just until the rehab stint is over . . .
Publication Date: 15th May
CW: infidelity, manipulation, scamming, stalking, blackmail, addiction, death, hit and run, grief
My Thoughts:
The Other Girl is a twisty tale of deception and double-crossing. It has a fantastic set-up before it goes off the rails in the best way.
This is a classic switch – a life of luxury for a freer life. Barr sets this up well with the initial concidental meeting setting a ticking clock for the two to decide. Of course, not everything is as it seems and Barr sets up plenty of surprises. I really enjoy when you can reread a scene through entirely new eyes given what you know later on. This is a masterclass in that with plenty of layers to unpick and twists and turns along the way. It was reminiscent of a YA take on The Talented Mr Ripley with that ever escalating sense of dangers and unknown stakes coming into play. There’s also a touch of Strangers on a Train with a taut atmosphere entering proceedings. I also enjoyed the exploration of privilege and the consequences that can be dodged through your social status. Barr has plenty to say about class, trauma and guilt with a multi-layered plot that keeps unfolding with new elements.
At the centre of it all, we follow Tabbi and Ruby. These are two complicated characters with their own baggage clouding their judgement and backstories complicating their worldview. Barr lets them be messy and avoiding easy moral decisions. They both have plenty they’re running from and a nefarious ability to scheme. I also enjoyed seeing both of their perspectives and how they overlapped at times. There is much more I want to say but it would give too much of the game away. Instead, I’d recommend picking this up and letting Barr sweep you along with the ride.
The Other Girl was a compelling YA thriller with a great concept and plenty of tricks up its sleeve.
Finally, I’d like to delve into The Ladie Upstairs by Jessie Elland. Thank you to John Murray Press for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Scullery drudge Ann longs to become a lady’s maid. Ann can’t quite remember how or when she arrived at the grand Ropner Hall, but she loathes spending her days toiling in the dank kitchen.
When a chance meeting with Ropner’s Lady Charlotte leads to the opportunity to become her personal maid, Ann is convinced she has finally escaped her own version of hell. But has she? As Ann’s new life above stairs takes a sinister twist, will it turn out that the terrors lurking up there are worse than the devils she knows below?
Publication Date: 22nd May
CW: rape, sexual assault, murder, death, violence, classism, eating disorder, bingeing, purging, vomiting
My Thoughts:
The Ladie Upstairs was a twisted Gothic fever dream of a book. It will stay with you long after the final page.
Elland packs a punch in this stunner of a debut. It is bizarre and weird and entirely disorientating. It feels timeless, in a vacuum you can’t pull yourself out of. I loved the writing which was both sumptuous and disgusting. The two spheres of upstairs and downstairs are clearly defined for Ann with the downstairs full of gross imagery and sin. My skin crawls reflecting on some of these passages. Elland’s writing is beautiful but makes you shiver and feeling deeply unnerved. It is the type of horror that seeps into your skin.
I loved its twist on a Gothic period drama that slowly builds the tension and sense of something being deeply wrong. From very early on, there are clear stakes and a sense of danger but it descends in absolute chaos. The omnipresent narrator doesn’t help matters with some cryptic clues early on. Elland also did something I adore in Gothic fiction, where the setting very much becomes its own character. Ropner Hall is this crumbling mansion, a rememberance of past glory and the bloodshed used to finance it all. It is all very classic Gothic beats but with a wonderful twist. At the centre of it all is Ann who is deeply scornful and judgemental of those around her, seeing them as mired in sin and scandal. She dreams of the life she could have upstairs, being infatuated with the beautiful Lady Charlotte. The story that unfolds from there is one of hunger, ambition, classism and skin-crawling disgust. It is unusual, full of fear and fascination in equal measure. Go into knowing as little as you can and let the nightmare unfold around you.
The Ladie Upstairs is an incredibly strong debut and I will be keenly looking to see what Elland does next.
A Short Book Lover 
5 thoughts on “Mini Review Monday #185”