Book Club August 2013

Hi everyone,

This is the, rather overdue, review for August’s book, which was the brilliant ‘Undone’ by Cat Clarke. My vocabulary has been rendered pretty much inadequate by the feelings (Oh, the feels *dramatic sigh*) that this book has left me with, so please bear with me.

Hazarding a guess, because I wasn’t actually there, I’d say that the general consensus for ‘Undone’ was a four star rating, which was definitely warranted. It was a thought-provoking and enthralling read that, granted, did make me want to hit something hard/scream/sob at times. But in a good way! The ending… Just... Gah.

Kai and Jem were inseparable. Best friends practically from the moment that Kai moved in next door, all those years ago. Back when Jem didn’t dye her hair black and Kai hadn’t rendered Jem’s feelings for him impossible with the revelation that he was gay. Back when Kai was still alive. Struggling to cope in the aftermath of Kai’s suicide, a heart-wrenchingly devastated Jem swears vengeance on the people that outed Kai online. Even though she knows there’s no way to bring him back, nothing will stop her from finding those responsible for his death and taking them down…

First of all, I absolutely loved the way that you’re just chucked straight into the middle of the events. The majority of YA books start off with a good few chapters dedicated to hinting at strange goings on and changes in the protagonist’s life before we’re hit with the real deal. This was not the case with ‘Undone’. At all. I think that this approach really helped with building Jem up as a character, because it was almost as if I got an insight into her confusion and muddled feelings about what was going on.

Then there was the plot. No sigh or sob can sufficiently summarise my feelings about this topic. I think that you can only begin to adequately define the words ‘frustration’ and ‘but’ after you’ve read this book. ‘Nuff said.

Finally, I want to talk about the lost star. For me, some of Jem’s actions seemed extremely irrational towards the end of the book, but I don’t feel like I’ve really got enough experience to call that judgement as, thankfully, I have never lost a close friend. If I was in Jem’s mind-set and had had to try and cope with what she did, I might not be saying the same thing.

Overall, it was a mind-bogglingly, heart-wrenchingly, brain-scatteringly brilliant read that should be on your bookshelf, or at least your wish list.

Bye for now,

Rosie :P

A handy link in order for you to check it out :)

ISBN: 9781780870458
Title: Undone
Author: Cat Clarke
Publisher: Quercus Publishing Plc
Rating out of Five Stars: