Well, I was really looking forward to this, and had high expectations and it definitely met it! Following Swim the Fly, Beat the Band follows Coop as the protagonist, instead of Matt.

Beat the Band is the school year after the summer in Swim the Fly, and Coop’s dream this year is to score with the hotties like Prudence and her entourage (he frequently has fantasies…). Although this time his friends, Sean and Matt, are a lot more preoccupied, much to Coop’s chagrin. Sean is lamenting the loss of his girlfriend Tianna, while Matt is preoccupied with his French girlfriend Valerie.

At the start of the book I just grimaced at how Coop thought about girls in his class. His attempts at flirting were hilarious, but his thoughts are… well, very close to what most boys at that age think about! Despite this set back, Coop quickly regains himself as you start to realise, as a reader, that he is very determined and ambitious, and throughout the book he develops a certain level of maturity (wait, did I really just say that? About Coop? Huh!), and you can see that he grows up – just a little bit!

Once again Don Calame has written a cracker of a book – perfect for teen boys – and further develops the characters. It was really interesting delving more into Coop’s life as he was so bold in the last book. Not only that, but his father was so well written too!

His writing style is very easy to relax into, it’s very professionally written. The language used by the kids in the book are also realistic and depict what boys are really like, very, very well!

What I really loved about Swim the Fly was the numerous times the three got into excruciatingly embarrassing situations. For me, I think there was a slight lack in them in this book, and when there were it seemed to be only Coop experiencing it. I guess it was just a bit different having it from someone else’s (particularly Coop’s) point of view. Anyway, it did not make me enjoy it less, as the style itself is just to fun to read!

I will definitely continue reading Don Calame’s work – it might not be aimed at girls but it sure is the book to perk you up and entertain you… exactly what a book is meant to do! Don Calame can easily weave humour into his stories. Humour is so difficult to get right in novels, and even harder to actually make people laugh. Kudos to you!

A hilarious novel which makes you love the time of your life when everything seems possible.

Here’s a little sample of the disgustingness (and hiiiiilariousness) that is in Beat the Band!

I shove a heaping forkful of coleslaw into my mouth. When you’re on a mission to save yourself, you’d be surprised how much raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, cold baked beans, prunes, celery, radishes and cabbagey coleslaw you can choke down.

“I’m glad I’m not going to be in that library,” Sean says, pulling the leaves off the celery for me. “Your regular H-bombs could clear a circus tent. I hate to think what kind of stench all this fuel is going to create.”

“You want me to crack you off a taster?” I say.

“Hell no!”

“Too late.” I smile, popping a cauliflower floret.

And even better, the next book in the series will be from Sean’s point of view (entitled CALL THE SHOTS)… I can’t wait!

Rating
Plot: 9/10
Not a particular plot, per se, but things keep happening that make you keep turning the page!
Writing Quality: 10/10
Definitely improved since the last book.
Originality: 9/10
Very unique.
Characters: 10/10
They continue to be very likeable and true to life!
Descriptions: 9/10
It’s not a particularly descriptive book (nothing like Twilight and Edward’s pecs kind of thing) but it is still very easy to imagine the setting, characters and such. Interwoven into the writing.

47/50 = 94% (same as last time!)

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Thank you to Templar Publishing for providing the review copy.

Check out the interview with Don Calame about Beat the Band!

One being the best and ten being the worst, I’d say that the boys’ band is a 9.6. While they can play a few chords and can stumble through a song or two, it’s nothing you’d want to listen to. I think the reason for that is because they’ve only practiced a couple of times before. Their band—Arnold Murphy’s Bologna Dare—is more of a rock band in theory. They’ve thought a lot about being a band but haven’t really put the effort in.

Your idea for the naked girl goal in the first book, Swim the Fly, was based on a personal experience – is there any you have used in the second book, Beat the Band?

Oh my God, yes. I mined quite a lot of personal experience for this book. The main one being that I was in a rock band in high school. And we basically formed the band so we could play in the school’s Battle of the Bands competition. You know, so we could get girls (because that always works out so well). Also, we were pretty awful when we started out. By the time of the show we were much better. So much so, that we won. Although, to be fair, I think we were the second best band that played. I’m pretty sure we got top honours simply for the fact that we played songs the teachers enjoyed rather than the heavy metal of the more competent band.

Do the characters have as much bad luck as in the last novel?

Hah! Of course. Some might say even worse. It wouldn’t be fun if the characters weren’t getting themselves into all sorts of trouble.

Was it more interesting to write the book from a different characters point of view (instead of from Matt’s perspective, the second is from Coop’s perspective)?

I found it a bit more challenging. Matt was easier because he was basically me as a fifteen year old boy. Not exactly me. But there was a good helping of me in there. Of course, there’s a bit of Coop in me as well, but far less, I think.

The thing with Coop is, he’s quite a bit more brash than Matt. But he has a really good heart once you get past all of the false bravado. And he’s incredibly loyal to his friends. It was fun writing on that edge. Writing a character that I knew some people might not like at first, but who—if you stick with him—you might learn to love.

I’m really glad I made the choice to write this book from a different point of view, though. I didn’t actually want to write a sequel. But doing it this way didn’t feel like a sequel. And in many respects it’s more of a companion novel than a true sequel. Yes, it takes place right after the last book ends but you don’t have to have read Swim the Fly to know what’s going on in Beat the Band.

Do you find it particularly difficult to ‘get in the mind’ of teenage boys, such as what sort of language they use and such? I thought in the first book their dialogue was spot on, even though they were boys in a different country (and that can change the way they speak quite a lot!)

Scary as this might be, I don’t find it difficult at all. I think it’s because I remember that time of life so well. A lot of hard things were going on in my life at the time. With my parents, with friends, girlfriends (or the lack thereof), siblings, feelings, emotions, and on and on. And so, it’s very easy for me to drop back into that awkward, emotionally-heightened, mixed-up time.

And while the words sometimes change (and sometimes don’t) the feelings stay constant. Basically, it’s never easy trying to talk to a girl when you’re a fifteen year old boy. It’s never easy trying to negotiate the world of friends and school and home life. Especially when everything feels so intensified and massively important. I think if you stay true to those feelings and emotions, the actual slang or language used is not as important. (Though, it’s still nice to try to get it as accurate as you can for the time period and place you’re writing about).

It also helped me to have two teenage step-sons living in the house at the time that I wrote the first two books. Eavesdropping on their conversations with friends was a great way to remind myself of the rhythm of the language.

Is there going to be a third book, from Sean’s point of view?

Yes. I just finished it up. It’s going to be titled Call the Shots. In this one the boys try to film an ultra-low budget horror film—like The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity—in the hopes to sell it for millions of dollars. I had a lot of fun getting Sean into all sorts of humiliating situations. He’s the most gullible of the three so he was not hard to lead astray.

How on earth do you come up with so many unfortunate events to happen to them? It must take a lot of time, I loved all of the embarrassing events from the first book – so many of them you really, really can’t predict.

It was a process, for sure. The book started out very short. Eighty pages, I think. Then I added another hundred. And for the next round, a further hundred. I kept going back to my own experiences, trying to remember the embarrassing things that happened to me throughout my life (and there are a lot of those instances). And if I couldn’t come up with something, I just asked myself, “What’s the worst possible thing that could happen to Matt at this point in time?” And I just went with that.

How did you first get the idea to write a humorous novel, from the perspective of young boys? The young adult market is predominantly wailing teenage girls with supernatural abilities – did you know you would stand out from the crowd?

To be perfectly honest, it was my wife’s idea. She’s a writer as well (Meg Tilly). While she was touring her amazing YA novel Porcupine she kept hearing from teachers and librarians that there were not very many good books out there for teenage boys.

So, it was her encouragement that lead me to writing Swim the Fly. I was resistant at first. I’ve been a screenwriter for the last fifteen years and was working on a new script when she sprung the idea on me. I put her off for several weeks but my wife was very persistent and persuasive. And thank God for that. Because I’ve never had so much fun writing anything in my entire life.

Thanks Don, your answers were so detailed – it is so true how there are hardly any YA books for boys!

You can read my review of Swim the Fly here!

Read the review of Beat the Band.

The last in the series, Surrender, is out in the USA on the 6th of December, and  in line with that is a blog tour. I asked Lee five questions in general about the trilogy (seeing as I have only read the first one);

1) Why did you choose to write in the paranormal genre, specifically ghosts? Were you inclined towards it because of an event or are you particularly interested in ghosts?

I had this idea for an adult novel that was this sort of contemporary gothic mystery and as I started working on it, I thought wouldn’t it be much cooler if she could actually talk to ghosts. I think I chose ghosts because I love history and old houses.

2) The concept of the ghosts and how Emma and other ghost keepers is a bit different than the majority of otherworldly novels – and especially the large number of powers Emma has compared to Bennett, for example – what inspired you to create this concept, and why?

I didn’t want it to be the stereotypical ghost-whisperer kind of theme, where she helps someone right a wrong and they’re able to move on. So the whole world of ghost keepers stemmed from trying to create something fresh. I liked the idea that she was pulled into this whole new plane of existence, and that her parents had been masquerading the truth to protect her. And the villain, Neos, came from the idea that some ghosts don’t want to move on, they just want to become more powerful ghosts.

3) Who is your favorite character to write about and why?

I love Emma. She’s the kind of girl I’d want as a best friend. But the most fun is probably writing the ghost jocks who mercilessly tease her.

4) In Book One, the strange “moments” Emma has to an older era as a different person is very intriguing – why did you choose to include these moments to be (around) the 19th century?

It just kind of fit into the Colonial history of Massachusetts where the book is set. Plus I wanted to create this idea that ghosts and ghostkeepers had been around for centuries.

5) The “will they or won’t they” relationship between Emma and Bennett is so intense to read in Book One! Do you like them as a couple, and was it fun to write their interactions with each other?

I very much do believe they belong together. They were tricky to write as a couple. In some ways, I think she’s a much better match with Coby, but one of the themes throughout the series is that you can’t always control who you’re attracted to, who you’re going to fall in love with. It’s part of what makes love so magical. I hope readers will be as happy with the conclusion in Surrender as I am.

Thanks Lee!

Yes, yes, yes… I am EVER so sorry! I have a back log as long as my arm quadrupled and I have not been reading very much. It’s all down to my spectacular social life. Pah! School has been an absolute nightmare at times and prelims have caused me to neglect reading and reviewing.

I am sorry to people who enjoyed reading my blog but I will make sure to catch up over Christmas and strive to keep it up over the course of my exams (when I have a *lot* of free time!)

I am in it for the long haul, and I was beginning to get annoyed of my Dad saying “Anything new on Magic Bean Review?” in a mocking tone.

If this happens again, call him.

Thanks for sticking by me!

PS I had an amazing work experience with BBC Scotland and overall school has actually been pretty fun, but the homework is the opposite!

Undead, I am ashamed to say, was my first ever zombie book. I thought the blurb was really intriguing so I said yes to an ARC copy from the lovely Chicken House. I was initially a little bit scared, I have to admit. I knew Undead was aimed at teens but that meant it could easily have been really scary.

Thankfully, it dealt just as many comedic cards as well as thrilling, horror and a touch of L-O-V-E, loooove. Being my first “zom-com” book, I didn’t have very high expectations pertaining the plot, specifically. I’ve watched plenty zombie based television programmes and films, but to be honest I have never understood how a book could chill you to the bone. Turns out, it’s actually quite possible!

Sarcastic (and slightly facetious) Bobby, Rebel Smitty, Alice “Malice” and Smart Inept Pete are the main cast, and written so that they actually swear, have interesting but realistic personalities.

The quick pace of the novel means you delve straight into the action, meaning there is not time to stop as the zombies appear straight away!

What I loved even more about Undead was that the characters were aware of popular culture. You know in media such as books, tv and films where teenagers don’t seem to watch TV? I am happy to say that in this book the characters watch TV and have seen plenty of zombie films, much like real life! Huzzah!

All in all, Kirsty McKay has written a fabulous book, finally creating a YA novel in which the characters are relatable, average and normal. What’s even better is that the zombie aspect is well done and not in a clichéd or overdone way, either. Great plot twists and a fantastic twist (or even… cliffhanger?) at the end leaves me gagging for more.

Rating
Plot: 8/10
Fast-paced and action packed. Perfect for a genre like this!
Writing Quality: 9/10
I really loved the quality and style of Kirsty McKay.
Originality: 8/10
OK so zombies aren’t original at all but elements and the writing were definitely different and it made it very enjoyable to read.
Characters: 9/10
The characters were loveable, well developed and most of all  realistic!
Descriptions: 8/10
I really loved the descriptions of the setting, characters and the zombies!

42/50 = 84%

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Thank you so much to Chicken House for providing an ARC copy!

Undead will be published on the 1st of September (or thereabouts! )

I was instantly drawn to this book when I was offered to review it. I am fascinated by Japanese culture, and to read a book by a Japanese author (a popular and renowned one at that) was something I had not actually done before. So, to say I was a bit disappointed is a slight understatement. I really felt that this book, if given the chance and more pages, would have been a whole lot better, because then the characters and plot could have been developed further to become a much better book.

However, that is not to say I did not enjoy it. For the most part, this book was very entertaining to read. You would not think that it was actually first published in 1967 – the ideas are very contemporary. The language seemed somewhat stilted and child-like (even though the book is branded a young adult) but I think the problem was the translation.

Kazuko is the fifteen year old protagonist, and her best friends are Kazuo and Goro, who are boys. Sometimes when I was reading it particularly fast, I would mix up the two names Kazuko and Kazuo, and ultimately confuse myself in the process! I was left a little dumbfounded at the end – it was definitely an ending which seemed rushed – and I feel, if this book was actually left to explore the regions of 200 to 300 pages, it would have been a much more enjoyable read.

When I began to read the other small story included in the book – the 61 page “The Stuff that Nightmares are made of” – I was, again, confused. But then I did realise it was a different story altogether. I felt the theme, or the moral, behind this story was a lot better. Masako is completely terrified of heights and aims to try and face that fear so she can live a normal life, whilst she also helps her little brother face his fears. Although it was a lot shorter, I think the premise behind this novella was better than The Girl who Leapt through Time.

I will definitely have to read more of Tsutsui’s books. I was definitely disappointed by The Girl who Leapt through Time, but the actual quality of writing was good – the translation did slightly ruin moments – and I think reading a book by him which is not a short story will most likely leave me wanting more.

Rating
Plot: 6/10
The only problem I had with it was the fact that the plot (and the entire book) felt rushed.
Writing Quality: 9/10
The writing quality was very good. Unfortunately, sometimes the translation left language a little stilted – leaving the book in the past at times.
Originality: 9/10
It may not be the most original thing now – but it most definitely would have been when it was first published.
Characters: 7/10
If the book was longer, and the characters were given more time to develop so I could get to know them better, the characters would probably get near full marks.
Descriptions: 8/10
There were not many descriptions but I really really loved that it was set in Japan. It was really interesting to read about life then.

39/50 = 78%

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Thank you to Alma Books for providing the review copy.

This is a classic example of the story, boy and girl hate each other, then eventually find out they are perfect for each other (but will they..?). Although, when you are reading the book, it does not seem like a cliche. It is in fact a very original and interesting book.

Jenna and Jonah, also known as Charlie and Fielding, are the starlets of the Disney-esque type TV programme, Jenna and Jonah’s How to be a Rock Star. In the show they are in an “on and off” relationship, in ‘reality’ they are a loved-up couple. That is, to everyone but Jenna, Jonah and their protege. Really, Jenna and Jonah despise each other. For most of the book their witty and quick dialogue is really fun to read – they also have comebacks and insults to throw at each other – and that is one of the strong points of the book.

I really enjoyed reading about Jenna and Jonah’s lives. It was really fascinating to read about what might happen with teen stars behind the scenes, and it really has made me think more about how genuine these couples actually are in real life.

Jenna and Jonah as characters were developed so they were not perfect. I think if they were perfect it would either be beautifully ironic/tongue in cheek or just plain annoying. However, the characters were imperfect. How so? Jenna/Charlie acted like a diva behind the scenes of the show but only because she was so insecure about herself. She felt acting was the only thing ‘interesting’ about her. Fielding feels like he is stuck in a shell – his mum picked out the name Fielding when he was a tween and he is sick of being that person.

Overall, I really loved the characters and their development. I think both writers had a really good writing quality and it was definitely enjoyable to read. Although, I was a little disappointed with the ending. I think, rather than introducing a slightly different plot angle, they could have continued with Jenna and Jonah struggling to live normally as stars once the rumour got out. Nevertheless, my enjoyment was not effected too much!

Rating
Plot: 7/10
The plot took a strange U-turn, but the beginning and middle were really fantastic.
Writing Quality: 9/10
Both Franklin and Halpin had great quality of writing.
Originality: 9/10
This was definitely original – I really want to read more books like this!
Characters: 9/10
The characters were loveable (eventually) and had a lot of depth.
Descriptions: 8/10
Another one of the strong points of the book – essential for my own enjoyment of a book

42/50 = 84%

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Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing the review copy.

I’ve been on a sort of writers block. I have been reading books, I am just not motivated to actually review them. This is a problem as over to the right, you can see the list of books I need to review. For quite a few of them, I read them back in February/March. That’s not particularly good, as now I can hardly remember what actually happened in some of them. Thus, I will probably have to re-read them. The woe!

But, I had a revelation, an epiphany!

This summer will be the summer I will banish procrastination, starting TODAY.

In fact, I feel so full of motivation and enthusiasm, I have actually thought of an EVENT! I will be speaking around twitter and gathering support for it. I think it should last a few days and incorporate many things…

This entire post is a big clue to what I hope to do. I may not do it, though. I’ve got other, more important things to do, like watching films online.

PS ~ Did I use too much bold text?

Welcome, Don Calame to Magic Bean Review!

On one of my earlier blog tour stops I wrote about how I came up with the initial idea for my novel Swim the Fly. How it was the swimming team—and not the naked girl—aspect of the story that was the original spark.

For those of you who didn’t read that blog or who haven’t read the book, Swim the Fly is the story of three less-than-popular fifteen year old boys who’ve set themselves a summertime goal to see a real-live naked girl. Despite the fact that they are the least athletic kids on the swim team and none of them have ever been on an actual date with a girl.

Inevitably though, I am asked the question: “Yeah, but, what about the naked girl? Where did THAT idea come from?”

When I sat down to write this summertime novel, I quickly realised that a book about being on swim team during the summer was not going to be enough to hook the reader and keep him or her turning the pages.

Yes, I know about swimming (because I was a swimmer, albeit not a very strong one) and so I know all the details of being on swim team: the smell of the chlorine, the clammy feel of a wet Speedos, the corny rhyming song-cheers from the stands.

But there needed to be some sort of concrete goal that the boys would be trying to achieve while they were on the swim team. A goal that could take place during the summer and would be teenage-boy specific.

And that’s when I remembered  something that happened to me and a friend one summer when I was a teenager.

I grew up in New York (on Long Island) and every summer my mother would take us to the beach on the weekends. When we were younger my friend and I were happy to build sandcastles, or ride the waves, or bury each other up to our heads.

But this one year, when we were fifteen, we started to hear rumors and whisperings about a “mythical nude beach” where you could see beautiful people dancing around in the buff. The story we’d been told was that you had to walk to the east for miles and miles, over hot sand and beachgrass-laden dunes. It would take hours to get there but the rewards you would receive for all your efforts would be great.

And so, this one Saturday morning, my friend and I decided we would make the pilgrimage. We’d each take a can of soda for sustenance and we would walk until we discovered this wondrous land of gorgeous naked women.

The rumor was right about a few things. We did have to walk for miles and miles. The sand was scorching hot and the beach grass nipped and cut your ankles as you waded through it.

What the report was not accurate about was the attractiveness of the people who chose to lounge on the beach in the nude. These were people who even the most girl-crazed teenage boys would never want to see unclothed.

What the whisperings also left out was that most of the nude sun bathers were men. Many of them overweight, all of them extremely hairy. It was like a Sasquatch sighting times a hundred.

And so, my friend and I promptly turned on our heels and hightailed it back to our bathing-suit friendly beach. Where we were more than happy to build a sandcastle or two to try and wipe our minds clean of what we had been witness to.

It was this event that gave me the idea for the boys’ goal in the book. An event that would also prove very useful for inspiration for one of the climactic scenes in the novel.

Thanks Don, that was really interesting! You can read my review of Swim the Fly here.

I was pretty excited when I first read the blurb of this book… it was completely different to what is usually in the shops, and completely different to what I usually go for! Swim the Fly is a contemporary YA “dude-lit” novel, but it certainly did not stop my enjoyment of the book. It easily takes the award for the funniest book I have read all year!

Matt, Coop and Sean have a summer tradition, in which they set themselves a goal each summer. When they were ten, it was riding their bikes fifteen miles way to a lake and skinny dipping. When they were twelve, it was going to the local golf course every day until they had collected 1000 gold balls. When they were thirteen they had to get their hands on a Playboy…. basically their goals got more centred around girls and sex!

The goal of seeing a live naked girl brings a ton of really embarrassing, laugh out loud events. I won’t go into too much detail, but you can read an excerpt over at Daisy Chain Book reviews here!

Don Calame’s writing is full of detail, and really fun to read. His witty writing takes the characters and the reader on hilarious adventures, leaving you turning the pages at rapid speeds. The characters are all really well developed and loveable. Each character had an obvious voice. One of my favourite characters was Grandpa Arlo…. he is such a player!

This book has opened up the world of dude-lit. If there are more books like this, I will be happy for ever more! It’s a gem, and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for something new and fresh, or someone who wants to make other people stare at them in a funny way, as you just snorted with laughter…

I leave you with a tiny morsel of the humour in this book. Go buy it for more!

[Grandpa Arlo had asked Matt to pretend to be Mrs Hoogenboom, his 'crush', for role-playing purposes.]

I take a breath, resetting myself. “Oh, this old thing? I’ve had this shawl forever.”
Grandpa Arlo smiles. “It suits you. It matches your eyes.”
“That’s, uh… very kind of you… I…” I have no idea what else to say. “That purple shirt… looks good on you, too. It matches… the blood vessels on your cheeks.”
“Nice,” Grandpa Arlo says.

YAY! And a sequel: Beat the Band is coming out in 2012… Coop is the protagonist in this one!

Rating
Plot: 10/10
Awesome…!
Writing Quality: 9/10
The writing quality was very, very good.
Originality: 9/10
It definitely was original to me – and I am sure it is pretty unique on it’s own.
Characters: 10/10
The characters were so good.
Descriptions: 9/10
There wasn’t too many, but I could imagine the setting really well, so I think the overall effect it had, was good.

47/50 = 94%

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Thank you to Templar Publishing for providing the review copy.

Check back later when Don Calame talks more about the aim of the summer!