Book Review: Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen by Donna Gephart

First published: 13th March 2012
By: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Olivia Bean knows trivia. She watches Jeopardy! every night and usually beats at least one of the contestants. If she were better at geography, she would try out for the show’s kids’ week. Not only could she win bundles of money, she’d get to go to the taping in California, where her dad, who left two years ago and who Olivia misses like crazy, lives with his new family.
 
One day Olivia’s friend-turned-nemesis, Tucker, offers to help her bulk up her geography knowledge. Before Olivia knows it, she’s getting help from all sorts of unexpected sources: her almost-stepdad, superannoying Neil; her genius little brother, Charlie; even her stressed-out mom. Soon she has breezed through the audition rounds and is headed for Hollywood! But will the one person she wants to impress more than anyone else show up to support her?


My review:

I thought this was a great children's novel. Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen feels like a story its target age group would connect and identify with and there are enough emotional layers to make it worthwhile for an adult reader, too.

Twelve year-old Olivia is nuts about the gameshow Jeopardy! and never misses an episode. She loves trivia and she also loves the fact that it's something she shares with her dad. Olivia's dad left the family and broke their trust in a really awful way, but of course, Olivia still misses him and wants him back in her life, the way he used to be. The gradual reveal of Olivia's dad as a total scumbag is subtle and well done. Olivia often mentions things her father said and the reader begins to see that he is constantly putting her down, even though Olivia, being a kid who loves her dad, phrases his insults in a way that shows she thinks she is to blame.

Olivia's dad is a character you want to kick in the groin, repeatedly and a better alternative is her mother's new boyfriend, Neil. I also think this relationship is nicely portrayed and develops realistically. Olivia resents and dislikes Neil at first, but comes to accept him and there's no over-the-top heroic moment where Neil rescues a dog from a burning building or anything - Olivia grows to think of him as her family almost without realising, because he does what fathers are supposed to do: Be there.

One of the reasons I think Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen is such a nice read is because of its focus on family. The scenes of the family together actually made me miss being that age and living at home. Baby brother Charlie, really reminded me of my own youngest brother, who was also simultaneously annoying and cute. There are also some good messages in this: Olivia does seem younger than twelve, but I was glad to read about a kid who wasn't bratty or spoiled and I like that the novel encourages girls to be smart.

Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen is a little predictable for adult readers (who have been around the reading block and know that, obviously, Olivia must make it onto Jeopardy! or the novel would stop there) but it's enjoyable nonetheless. And I wholeheartedly recommend it for children with a reading age of 8 and up. I'm keeping it on my Kindle in preparation for any nieces or nephews I may have to entertain.


Rating: 4 stars


This book was provided to me by the publisher, through NetGalley, in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Waiting on Wednesday #12

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Changeling by Philippa Gregory

The first book in the thrilling YA sequence, Order of Darkness.

The year is 1453, and all signs point to it being the end of the world. Accused of heresy and expelled from his monastery, handsome seventeen-year-old, Luca Vero, is recruited by a mysterious stranger to record the end of times across Europe. Commanded by sealed orders, Luca is sent to map the fears of Christendom, and travel to the very frontier of good and evil. 

Seventeen-year-old Isolde, a Lady Abbess, is trapped in a nunnery to prevent her claiming her rich inheritance. As the nuns in her care are driven mad by strange visions, walking in their sleep, and showing bleeding wounds, Luca is sent to investigate and all the evidence points to Isolde's criminal guilt. Outside in the yard they are building a pyre to burn her for witchcraft. 

Forced to face the greatest fears of the dark ages - black magic, werewolves, madness - Luca and Isolde embark on a search for truth, their own destinies, and even love as they take the unknown ways to the real historical figure who defends the boundaries of Christendom and holds the secrets of the Order of Darkness.

Published: 24th May 2012

WoW because: Philippa Gregory is a crazy guilty pleasure of mine - I love her adult historical fiction. Do I suspect she may be drawn to the YA genre for monetary reasons? Yes. Do I care? Not if there's going to be as much scandal and intrigue in her YA novels as there is in her Tudor series. I'm hoping Gregory's style translates well into YA Fantasy, but no matter what, I have to read it and find out.

Book Review: The Other Countess by Eve Edwards

First published: 1st July 2010

By: Razorbill

England, 1582

Ellie - Lady Eleanor Rodriguez of San Jaime - is in possession of a gold-seeking father, a worthless title and a feisty spirit that captivates the elite of the Queen's court, and none other than the handsome new Earl of Dorset . . .

William Lacey has inherited his father's title and his financial ruin. Now the Earl must seek a wealthy heiress and restore his family's fortune. 

Will's head has been turned by the gorgeous Ellie, yet their union can never be. Will is destined to marry a lady worthy of his status, so the only question is - which one...?

My review:

I treated this book embarrassingly badly before reading it. I borrowed it from the library and renewed it for months before I had to return it unread. Then I took it out again and did the same thing all over again! Let me tell you, The Other Countess did not deserve such treatment. It's exactly the kind of book I enjoy: it's frothy and fun, with characters that are easy to like and prose that's easy to keep reading and I was nuts not to read it before now.

Ellie is the daughter of an alchemist and her father has ruined himself and gone half-mad in his fruitless pursuit of gold. He's also taken others down with him, namely the father of Will Lacey, who dies leaving his family near-bankrupt. Will blames Ellie's father entirely for the mess and The Other Countess begins with a furious Will chasing both dad and daughter off Lacey land.

Flash forward a few years and Ellie is now a beautiful young woman, attached to a family at Queen Elizabeth's court. Will comes to court to try to do the only things that will help his family: Win the queen's favour and hook himself a rich bride. But guess who he meets...

It's not difficult to predict what will ultimately happen in this light and charming tale, but what it lacks in surprises, The Other Countess more than makes up for in great characters and a swoon-worthy romance. Ellie is fabulously feisty, but also a very dutiful daughter and you can't help but feel sorry for her, being saddled as she is with a father who is completely oblivious to everything (how much he is mocked and hated, how poor they really are) but his alchemy. Will is very Mr Darcy, in the sense that he starts out as so snooty and mean to Ellie, but just when you are about to write him off as an irredeemable asshat, he comes to his senses and apologises so beautifully and makes it up to Ellie so heroically that...well, that's when the swooning starts.

The supporting characters are super, too: Will's brothers and their teasing banter-filled relationship, and Lady Jane, the rich girl Will has picked to marry. I liked that, while it at first seems that Jane is going to be the bitch and Ellie's nemesis, Eve Edwards avoids that particular cliché by having Ellie and Jane become friends.

One thing that actually did surprise me about The Other Countess was the amount of humour in it. Will's siblings are pretty fast with the jokes and Lady Jane has a scheming maid whose sexcapades are played for laughs, but even the serious subplots - which involve the religious complications of Elizabethan England - are lightened up with some funny lines.

All this adds up to a lighthearted and pleasing read: A 16th century rom-com, you could say. Eve Edwards has written more romances for the Lacey family (the next books are The Queen's Lady and The Rogue's Princess) and I am really looking forward to reading them.


Rating: 4 stars