I first heard about Lobsters when tuning into the brilliant Down the Rabbit Hole radio show. Word of mouth is the most effective form of advertising, don't you think? Listening to people chat about a book - hearing them laugh over the rude bits and reminisce about their own teenage years - well, it's a guaranteed way to get me to buy a book, that's for sure.
When it comes to teen fiction and YA, I can be a harsh critic. I'll throw my hands up now: I'm a very judgemental reader! If I don't like a character who I'm supposed to like, I do struggle with a book - and it's not that they need to be 100% good/honest/interesting/anything 100% of the time, I just need to see something in them that I trust.
Reading Lobsters got me thinking about these things, simply because it's a bloody brilliant book. It feels genuine. Convincing. The characters . . . I believed in all of them, and the reason why I'm ever so slightly bowled over by this is because it's not a feeling I get all that often.
Hannah and her three school friends Stella, Grace and Tilly are at a turning point in their lives. With their A-level exams over with, they're in that almost-twilight zone between finishing school and doing whatever comes next. The start of the summer holidays sees the promise of change bubbling under the surface. Throw a few fit boys into the mix and you know you're in store for some extreme highs and lows, as well as some brilliant laugh-out-loud moments.
I love that Lobsters feels relatable. Yes, it is being a bit rude, but that feels realistic. Whether you're the one doing it or the one hearing about other people doing it, sex is a huge part of being a teenager, and reading about a group of friends trying to be open and honest with each other in the face of it all felt . . . True. And oddly déjà vu-like.
The characters were perfectly pitched. Both Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison have managed to capture a realistic microcosm of teenage life. There are moments when you're willing the characters to do the opposite of what they're about to do. You wish that they had the luxury of hindsight (although thank God they don't, or wouldn't Lobsters be boring as hell). Even the less honourable characters ring true, and I love that I didn't get a whiff of any "tokens" (the stereotypical characters, apparently thrown in for good measure, that add nothing to the story). Each character felt three dimensional (maybe except for Panda!).
So, I'm giving Lobsters five stars for being a brilliant book. If you haven't read it already, do!
And now I just have to wait for the follow-up. (There is going to be a follow-up, right?)
POP rating
Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Published by Chicken House in June 2014
RRP £7.99
* Photos taken from the Chicken House website
I loved this book too Fiz! It reminded me so much of being a teen myself, I hope it gets all the recognition it deserves :)
Caroline
Posted by: Caroline Carpenter | Tuesday, 15 July 2014 at 11:21 AM