Review: Order in the Court

Order in the Court by Casey Lawrence
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this book from NetGalley for a honest review.

I have to admit I didn't realise this was the second book in the series when I started it, but I actually think this works quite well as a stand alone novel even though I am going to pick the first one up to see even more of the backstory.

This book has some really important issues in it that I've never seen put together before, but it was written in such a way that it didn't feel like the author was throwing in issues just for the sake of it. Everything had a purpose and furthered the story line. One especially telling moment was when Corey was told that if she played up to the Asian stereotype then she jury was more likely to listen to her side of the story. Unfair? Absolutely. True? Sadly, it probably is. Appearances being deceiving are a huge part of this book and I felt like that moment really encompassed it.

The only downside that I found with this book was the was that the story jumped about, it made it quite hard to follow, and everything seemed to happen so quickly. There were so many fascinating characters and the potential was enormous that I would have enjoyed seeing it just a little more. The ending especially felt a little rushed to me, though I would hasten to add that it wasn't a bad ending!

Over all I went into this title totally blind and enjoyed it. I read it in one sitting and was certainly fast paced enough to keep pulling you along! It deals with issues within the LGBT community where Corey is bi-sexual and finds it difficult from a multiple of people to be able to accept that about her, she's suffering from PTSD and at the same time trying to live her life in the aftermath of something truly horrific. With the wrong protagonist it really wouldn't have worked but she is very relateable, likeable and flawed just like the rest of us!
Order In The Court

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Book Review: The Duff by Kody Keplinger (3 Stars)

I picked up this book after hearing generally positive things about it, and wanting a bit of light relief after reading several heavy fantasy books and classic literature. It’s a very fast read and I read it in one sitting of about two hours. You do have to suspend a certain amount of disbelief and just accept that this is not a book where reality is going to play a big part.

For example, having been a teenager and having experienced many boys like Wesley I could not quite get over the fact that there was no way he could turn out to be the good guy that he did, despite his redeeming storyline. Anyone who comes up with the tern DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) is not a nice person at heart, I’m sorry but that is just the way that I feel. It takes a certain mind to come up with such a cruel phrase. I am all for Bianca claiming the term and using Wesley, as it starts off, I would also have been happy for them to become friends out of it and have grown through it. I actually would have preferred that they hadn’t fallen in love, it just didn’t quite ring true – and for someone who loves a good happy ending this is pretty hard for me to say.

That being said, once I got over my disbelief, I really did enjoy this book. There were some strong messages that came out, towards the end of the book in particular, about how all teenage girls seem insecure no matter how beautiful they are perceived to be. I think this is something that is really important in today’s world where it is so easy to be negative and the media pushes us towards these feelings. The way that the girls come together at the end to talk through their issues and support each other was something I really enjoyed of and we need to see more of. It was also really nice to have two so-called beautiful friends who were genuinely good people and cared about the heroine. There were no darker intentions behind their friendship, all they wanted to do was help and support Bianca – even when she’s being a truly terrible friend.

I debated long and hard between giving this book two stars and three stars, but in the end my enjoyment of the friendship aspect overcame my issue with the relationship and the one-dimensional side characters. There is a solid message in The Duff in my opinion, even if it isn’t the one that I expected when I first picked up the book.