TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN... (Cinnamon Black Books Book 5)

This effect is only exacerbated by the To begin with, the writing in this book is atrocious on almost every level. This effect is only exacerbated by the voice Cameron uses for Stephen, which sounds, at turns, like a middle aged man all that "this was back in the summer of " nonsense - what teenager talks like that? Many times, when Stephen would make some kind of "joke" or reference I thought that I had missed a few pages because so many of his narrative asides come from completely out of nowhere.

This entire book feels unbalanced. Events that seem like they should have a huge aftershock like Stephen's coming out at a high school party end up barely rippling given that this was set in the 's there should've been way, way more than a few nasty comments and a swirly as a result. So many things here seem like they weren't really thought through. Plotlines are picked up Adam and then abandoned Adam with barely more than a few sentences tying them up. And the sentence level is just as clumsy as the rest of the book.

At best, the writing here is dull. At worst, it's cringe inducing. Not only does this read like a first novel, it reads like a first attempt at writing, period. I honestly don't understand how this book was allowed out into the world, but I can definitively say that I wouldn't recommend it. Apr 21, Orla McAlinden rated it really liked it. I started the book at 10 am and finished it at 10 pm, standing beside the Easter Sunday Roast, reading with one hand and basting with the other, and I think that's all I really need to say about it. It's not nearly as literary as the books I tend to read, but it cont "Hey" shouted a lady in the playground yesterday, "Isn't that your little girl crying at the top of the climbing frame?

It's not nearly as literary as the books I tend to read, but it contains fantastic lines and images that will stick with the reader for a long time. I loved learning, very casually and unobtrusively about what winter in Canada is really like, the darkness, the cold, the puddles of snowmelt in the linoleum; great stuff Oct 01, Falina rated it really liked it.

Account Options

I love a well-crafted coming-of-age story with a tough and intelligent protagonist. I loved the complexity of the characters and their reactions, and I was comforted by the hopefulness of the ending. All around, an excellent story. It's been a while since a book has surprised me, but Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World did just that. Going into the novel, I was expecting a coming out story with some strife but more humor and lightheartedness than drama or danger. Was I ever wrong. Cameron delivers a gut-punch of reality to the reader, brutally and unflinchingly portraying s small-town homophobia.

Combine that with some deeply flawed but ultimately likeable characters and a fast-paced narrative, and Cinnamon Toast a It's been a while since a book has surprised me, but Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World did just that. Combine that with some deeply flawed but ultimately likeable characters and a fast-paced narrative, and Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World ends up being a really good book. Aug 19, maggie rated it did not like it Shelves: Stephen membayangkan bahwa akhir dunia bakalan kayak tivi meledak karena kecelakaan saat menyalakan rokok misalnya.

Atau yg lebih ekstrim lagi, seperti ramalan suku Maya atau Nostradamus. Tapi tidak dengan apa yg dialami Stephen. Dunianya berakhir saat dia meny 4. Dunianya berakhir saat dia menyadari bahwa dia jatuh cinta pada orang yg keliru, yaitu sahabatnya sendiri. I tried to imagine myself having a normal, happy life. Chatting with people easily, not worried if I was saying the right thing or standing right or if they liked me Stephen dan Mark bersahabat baik sejak kecil dan keduanya berasal dari keluarga yg berantakan.

Stephen sendiri sering di-bully karena dia dianggap lemah dan pemalu, dan setiap kali Stephen diperlakukan begitu, Mark selalu datang sebagai penyelamat. Mark sendiri juga bukan anak yg 'teladan'. Dia berandal yg gak segan-segan main pukul pernah meng-K. O pacar ibunya yg notabene lebih tua dan lebih besar , rokok, drugs dan alkohol adalah hobinya, dan dia benci-banget-sama-gay.

Bisa dibayangkam dilema yg dialami Stephen saat menyadari cintanya pada sahabatnya. Untung ada Lana, sahabat perempuan Stephen yg masih mendukungnya. Namun, keinginan Stephen untuk mengungkapkan perasaannya pda Mark begitu besar, dan di sisi lain, dia gak mau mati konyol karena reaksi sahabatnya tersebut. Buku ini menyajikan dilema tersebut dan cara Ms. Cameron menuliskannya bikin susah meletakkan buku ini.

Jangan terkecoh dengan judulnya yg kayak teenlit atau light-contemporary-YA eh.. Isinya banyak banget diisi scenes mabuk, nyimeng, free-sex dan kegilaan ala remaja 80'-an. Yep, settingnya memang tahun segitu, saat The Smith, Duran-Duran, Bowie dan band-band semacam itu lagi nge-hits. Kehidupan Stephen di Riverside, Nova Scotia, bisa dibilang messy abis. Selain ke sekolah, bisa dibilang dia dan kebanyakan remaja di buku ini cuma party, mabuk, ngerokok, nyimeng, kelayapan gak jelas dan mengutuk perasaannya pada Mark. Ayahnya sendiri juga agak 'aneh', dia minta Stephen memanggil dirinya dengan Stanley atau Stan, daripada ayah atau Papa.

Namun yg dia lakukan hanya menelantarkan anak istrinya, minggat ke Montreal, nikah lagi dan minta Stephen ke sana buat bantu Sheila, sang istri baru, ngerawat anak-anak perempuannya. Can u imagine how damaged that man personality? I'm judging here, but I can't stand with this man! Mengikuti kegalauan Stephen dalam mengungkapkan jati dirinya membuat gw bener-bener pengen meluk ni anak. Dan gw bahkan bener-bener nangis saat Granny Dawd bisik-bisik I supposed shes' proud of herself. I'd hang my head in shame.

I certainty wouldn't sit it at the dinner table. Gw paling gak bisa kalo ada orang yg gak dianggap, maybe it quite personal, but Sepanjang buku ini gw terus penasaran gimana Stephen bakal ngasih tau Mark, gimana reaksi Mark dan gw bener-bener berharap kisah ini happy ending. Dan karena settingnya masih taun segitu, perlindungan dan reaksi terhadap kaum homoseksual masih bisa dibilang minim dan negatif. Jadi, mau gak mau mungkin kita bakalan dihadapkan pada kenyataan pahit banget bahwa mereka akan selalu 'diasingkan', dimanapun mereka berada. Dan pemikiran Stephen tentang betapa tidak wajarnya kehidupan 'normal' adik-adik tirinya, terasa sangat wajar.

Buku ini pastinya menjadi salah satu buku favorit di tahun ini. I was at the library, staring at the shelves and bemoaning the fact that I couldn't find anything to read! And there on a trolley, lying on top of several books waiting to be shelved was a book with a drawing toast popping out of a toaster and the words, Cinnamon Toast and The End of the World a novel Janet E. Cameron I opened it and read the first paragraph: That's what people will tell you when they want to say, 'Your problems I was at the library, staring at the shelves and bemoaning the fact that I couldn't find anything to read!

That's what people will tell you when they want to say, 'Your problems are stupid, your reaction to them is laughable, and I would like you to go away now. Or sometimes plain impatience. So of course if she's ever running around looking for her keys and cursing, I'll always tell her, 'It's not the end of the world, Mom. Then I'll settle back to watch with a sympathetic expression while she tears the house apart looking.

Not the end of the world. And initially, I really liked the book. This is where I lived. Riverside, Nova Scotia population 1, The kind of place where all those movies about small-town America seem to get filmed. You know the kind I'm talking about. The camera rambles down the street and you see people chirping greetings and friendly chit-chat at each other, waving from their houses, old people raking leaves, with a soundtrack of quick, bouncy notes on the strings.

For a horror movie, just run the same scened but add a slow, tense cello. I was falling asleep behind this maze of sheets with a lit cigarette in my hand. So, was my life a comedy or a horror? I'd prefer a horror movie. At least you know what you're dealing with there. Things began to unravel. While it's not strictly a horror novel, it is definitely a tragedy. Alcohol, drugs, duplicity, close-mindedness, misery, unkindness, violence, cruelty. There seemed to be no balance in the other direction. Don't get me wrong; it's well written. But I'm not sure I could say I liked it, the characters - or myself - as I closed the book after reading the final sentence.

Even though there is, at last, a brief glimpse of the tiniest hint of hope in the final sentence. If you're in the mood to wallow about the hideous direction that our empty shallow lives have taken and relive the anguish of your highschool years, this is the book for you. I didn't understand time. It could freeze like cement in an hourglass. It would be Wednesday and I couldn't imagine it would ever be Friday. It would be February and I knew it would never be June. And then one day I was on my way to the hardware store where my best friend worked and hoping I wouldn't run into him there, with my college acceptance letter in my backpack and less than three months of high school left for the both of us.

It had all gone by like one afternoon. May 02, Puddlejumperreads rated it it was amazing. After that I think I just swallowed the book whole. Stephen was like that. Stephen was so real to me. Lana covers her face in white makeup, rings her eyes in black. Everyone else did, though. He stops other kids beating Stephen up, sticks with him most of the time, but some parts of Stephen always seem to piss him off. Some parts of Stephen seem to piss everyone off.

A ball would go slamming into the side of my face. But that ball would find me wherever I went. It was the usual guys, most of the time. Then one morning I looked up from my book to see Mark firing a basketball right at me. But you could see muscle moving under his skin. A few light-brown hairs curled up from the waistband of his jeans. I could feel my face going hot, and my ears.

• See a Problem?;
• Mary George of Allnorthover!
• One Pilots War - The Battle of Britain and Beyond.
• Amare Dio è un viaggio meraviglioso - I 33 giorni di Papa Luciani (Italian Edition)?
• Get A Copy!
• Launch! Rate Your Skills Against Other College Seniors And Cash That First Paycheck In 90 Days!?
• Storms In Teacups.

I looked away, but it was too late. Underlying this is silent suffocation from an immense pressure. This book has all the heightened extremes of being young. Watch this boy harden, watch him grow. What love I have for Stephen, and for this book. I'd give it somewhere between a 4 and 4.

I really enjoyed this one, the second half of the book was really excellent. I wanted the main character of Stephen to have more internal conflict going on in his head about being gay, denial, coming to terms with it, coming out. As a young, confused teen surrounded by negativity towards gay people, he probably would have been questioning himself a lot more, being in deep denial about the situation, and it would probably be constantly on his min I'd give it somewhere between a 4 and 4. As a young, confused teen surrounded by negativity towards gay people, he probably would have been questioning himself a lot more, being in deep denial about the situation, and it would probably be constantly on his mind.

As someone who was struggling with his sexuality, it didn't feel as though he in fact struggled with it enough. Aside from that though, I really liked the journey he went on in his last months of high school, his last summer at home, and moving to Halifax. I thought the self-destructive conflicts he went through at the end of school, and what happened with his best friend Mark on the eve of his departure were particularly upsetting and highly personal for me, so I felt the author captured those moments well. Those moments left me a little shaken because I could relate to what was happening.

I also really liked Stephen's sense of humour and outlook on life, it brought a bit of levity to the story that at times could be dark and serious. When I read books by first-time authors I try to be a little more supportive than I might be with one that is more established. By the time I was done with this book, I knew that the author would be successful if more people found out about her book. I felt that as I progressed through the story, the author really found her flow and voice.

The writing became more solid and engaging the farther into it I got and by the time I got to the last third, I was finding I was trying to find any spare time I could to keep reading, I just kept wanting to keep going. I look forward to seeing what comes from this author in the future, I hope she continues to write. May 08, Aela Maxwell rated it it was amazing Shelves: So, I went into this expecting a lovely, light-hearted coming of age story.

That is not what I got at all, but I am not sorry for it. What I did get is an incredibly honest and emotional story that challenges the idyllic idea that everything will work out how you want it to in the end. Which I think is really important. So many of these coming of age stories end on a hopeful guy-gets-the-guy or any variation of gender note, but part-way through this, I knew that wasn't going to Spoilers ahead.

So many of these coming of age stories end on a hopeful guy-gets-the-guy or any variation of gender note, but part-way through this, I knew that wasn't going to be the case. It didn't prove me wrong. In a lot of ways, I am thankful for that. Because while it is nice to read books that tie themselves up in a neat and happy bow at the end, it is also nice to read books that mirror your own experiences of first love and growing up as a queer kid. So, Wedgwood must improvise with the ingredients found on a pirate ship. And I really loved how he worked around getting the ingredients that he got.

He had to plan ahead and make deals, it was quite interesting to watch. But Captain Mabbot isn't just dilly-dallying around eating food, she's after the elusive Brass Fox, with whom she has a mysterious score to settle. We see all the characters through the view of Wedgwood, and it was quite fascinating to read how his perspective of everyone, and of pirating in general, started to change throughout the months.

Of course, the best thing to watch was how his view of Mabbot changed. How she went from a one-dimensional ruthless pirate, to a full formed person with strengths and weakness, goals and fears. Pirating was not glossed over here, and was not seen as romantic. I thought the book really captured the grittiness of pirating. I could literally sit here and write paragraphs about Mabbot, but I just have to say I was really impressed. Like I said, it's not everyday a book about a lady pirate comes out, so I have to read what I can get. The fact that I wasn't disappointed in the least, makes me very, very happy.

She's everything I love in a lady pirate: She was realistic, and that's all I wanted. View all 5 comments. Dec 02, Gavin rated it it was ok Shelves: This turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. I think it was most likely a victim of my false expectations. I was expecting a fun and hilarious historical romance romp. What I actually got was a weird historical fiction with a touch of fantasy and a tiny bit of romance. Mad Hannah Mabbot, the notorious pirate captain, is a terror on the high seas and a thorn in the side of the prominent Pendelton Trading Company.

During a raid where she kills a high ranking Pendelton official Lord Ramsey she This turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. During a raid where she kills a high ranking Pendelton official Lord Ramsey she decides to kidnap his cook. That cook is Owen Wedgwood. She gives Owen a simple choice, cook her a Sunday meal fit for a Queen each week or suffer the same fate as his former master. My main issue with this was the lack of humor and romance. It was a fairly dark read at times as the pirates were not the most moral of characters you will ever encounter.

It also painted a fair picture of life in the s, which was pretty bleak for a lot of people! I did warm a bit to both Mabbot and Owen towards the end of the story, but they were hardly the most likeable characters I've ever read about. All in all this recovered from a bad start to solidify into a fairly average read. James Langton did a decent job with the audio.

Mar 23, Trish rated it really liked it Shelves: Enter Hannah Mabbot, pirate extraordinaire , defender of the underdog, and avenger of the exploited. It may be that readers are especially susceptible to feats of culinary desperation because we are too busy reading to shop, so finding Wedgwood creating real cuisine from weevily flour and rancid lard is positively inspiring. This is escapist fun of the best sort, effortlessly inventive, reminiscent of childhood summers, yet with truths adults will recognize and may take to heart.

Once, Mabbot must throw overboard the treasure she has looted from Pendleton ships in order to speed her progress away from danger: It is a complicated thing. With money in their pockets they become lazy and contrary. Heavy and slow, as does the Rose itself…A small part of me is glad to be rid of it.

When my men are hungry, with death upon their heels, they work hard and never complain and enjoy their own company. They sing every night. To tell you it will go away would be a lie. It will never go away. But, if you live long enough, it will cease to torture and will instead flavor you. As we rely on the bitterness of strong tea to wake us, this too will become something you can use.

I sharpened a knife until it shone, then skinned and cleaned the rabbit, trying to make each cut a gesture of respect. She had fed and loved it and now its flesh would become hers and mine, and in this way I understood that all beings lived only to feed each other as even the lion lays down for the worm.

But lord knows how we all love conquering the inhibitions of prudish men—and how much more satisfying and telling it is for the woman to be the instigator. Women, more discriminating perhaps, tell us more by their choices. A fine choice for a summer read. This book deserves to be widely enjoyed for the sheer fun it offers. It is something apart from the usual, and one must always take note of derring-do. View all 4 comments. This extremely inventive novel takes place in on the high seas, when Owen Wedgewood, chef to Lord Ramsey, is kidnapped by the notorious pirate Hannah Mabbot.

After killing Lord Ramsey, who was at dinner, Mabbot eats some of the food on the table and falls in love with the cooking skills of Wedgewood. It is his narration we follow and a well written one it is, in short Wedgewood is a wordsmith, his prose is a wonder. Mabbot promises not to kill him if he makes her a sumptuous dinner every Su This extremely inventive novel takes place in on the high seas, when Owen Wedgewood, chef to Lord Ramsey, is kidnapped by the notorious pirate Hannah Mabbot.

The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected Poems by Michael Ondaatje

Mabbot promises not to kill him if he makes her a sumptuous dinner every Sunday. This is a little hard to do as the provisions on a pirates ship are not exactly meant for the gourmand. So what follows is a grand adventure, yes there is killing, this is a pirate ship after all but there is a purpose and reason behind Mabbot's sailing of the seas. As Wedgewood cooks for her, and the details of these dinners are amazing, they talk and learn things that leads them to a tentative trust. This is such a book of contrasts, we have a pirate ship with the regular salty characters of lore contrasted with Wedgewood and his impeccable speech and dry wit.

We have rats and bugs in the flour and other disgusting tales of food goods and then once again there is Wedgewood cooking sumptuous food that he manages to get food for. I also love that the pirate is a woman and one I was willing to follow from the English Coast through the Sunda strait to China. Jan 24, Danielle rated it really liked it Shelves: Part adventure, part food writing, and part romance, this epistolary novel is as complex as the dinners Wedge creates, as beautiful as the love that grows, and as bittersweet as the ending.

Eli Brown now owns my heart. This sets up a wonderful take on the traditional Scheherazade story, with Wedge tasked to cook a completely unique meal every week in exchange for his continued breathing. It does a good job of setting the scene and introducing the crew, but I was left desperately longing for more Mabbot.

Out of This Place

Wedge is mostly alone and apart from the other crew members, though he does find himself teaching Joshua, the deaf cabin boy, to read. Ship battles featuring solar death rays and horrific storms. Flayings, a saboteur, lost limbs, explosions, women disguised as men, long-lost relatives, prison-breaks It really swashes the buckle. The circuitous journey; winding through England,West Africa, India, the South China sea, Macau, and out to the Americas; brings treasure and triumph, even a stove for Wedge, along with bloodshed and loss.

The descriptions of the locales and locals, while not always politically correct by 21st century conventions, are not to be missed. The narrator describes every meal with utter reverence, somewhere between lust and religious devotion.

• Cinnamon Skin.
• Il diavolo e lacqua santa (Italian Edition)!
• .

If anything, I could have done with a few more meals just for the breathtaking way each layer of flavor is described, building on the last. The continued ingenuity of Wedge in the kitchen was almost more exciting than any pirate confrontation. And like the love inside, the book is very bittersweet coming into the final confrontation.

Instead, I would like to leave you with Owen Wedgwood: Do go on without me. I have a sudden case of the shits. Jan 20, MomToKippy rated it it was amazing Shelves: What happens when a cultured and devout British chef is captured by pirates and forced to live among the heathen brutes led a by fiery red haired freckled female captain? Well you end up with nail biting adventure, desperate attempts at gastronomy, fantastic imagery and a bit of romance.

The novel sports eloquent and descriptive language, written in a tone and verbiage appropriate to the early s. The author's knowledge of sailing and ships is amazing. The chef's evolution among the pirates i What happens when a cultured and devout British chef is captured by pirates and forced to live among the heathen brutes led a by fiery red haired freckled female captain?

The chef's evolution among the pirates is an interesting one and one begins to wonder who the real pirates are? The pierced and tattooed motley crew and their highly feared female captain or the commercial traders that share the same high seas trafficking opium and slaves under the guise of silk trade and doing away with any who dare to object.

Who are the good guys and who are the bad guys? As the story progresses this is quite an interesting and thoughtful twist. The telling of this story from the perspective of the proper and prim British chef written in diary format provides such an interesting and humorous contrast to the garish and lewd events that he describes.

We are talking about pirates here. This approach actually highlights the idea that the differences among people are minimal. In fact, it turns out that those who are heartless and souless may be those who appear the opposite on the surface and the "pirates" are in many ways soulful, caring and loyal and dedicated friends. How clever of the author to turn things upside down for us like this to make a point. There are many tender and heartfelt believable moments.

The farther I read along the more I realized how complex and creative this work was. Some quotes about food: The scents that had so inspired my cooking, just hours before, deferred temporarily to the textures of the meal. The croquettes tsked and whispered when bitten into; inside, the delicate fingers of crabmeat parted reluctantly, like lovers holding hands. The squabs were indecent in their steamy terrine. The mole slid off the meat and sent dark rivulets under the tongue.

Some foods are so comforting, so nourishing of the body and soul, that to eat them is to be home again after a long journey.

Cinnamon and Gunpowder

To eat such a meal is to remember that, though the world is full of knives and storms, the body is built for kindness. The angels, who know no hunger, have never been as satisfied. Once gone, I could not exactly say what it had been, only that I had been holding on to it ever since this horrible story began, as a man hanging form a cliff clings to a stalk of nettle; that bitter weed had kept me alive.

Now that I had let go, I was falling and would not be the same. Very unique and enjoyable. Just a note- quite a bit of violence and tragedy for those who may be squeamish like me - somewhat offset by the humor. View all 12 comments. Mar 25, Susan rated it really liked it Shelves: A chef is kidnapped by a beautiful, red-haired female pirate captain and forced to cook her gourmet meals. There are so many ways this book could have gone wrong, but it avoided the pitfalls to be a very fun, exciting and at times serious read.

I was afraid the book would be fluff, falling into cliches of the misunderstood and noble pirate who would not actually harm anyone, and the prissy, pampered chef. But it wasn't long before those cliches were jettisoned like so many cannonballs. Though he A chef is kidnapped by a beautiful, red-haired female pirate captain and forced to cook her gourmet meals. Though here I would have to say that I wish some of the side characters would have been a little more fully-developed, as they did tend to be a bit cliched.

The book does not shrink from the violence of a pirate ship and the harsh realities of life on one. While Wedgewood the chef does grow and change through his experiences, Mabbot's motivations, plans and character are slowly revealed through the course of the novel. In a way, the novel is the story of Wedgewood finding himself as he discovers Mabbot's true self.

But of course, that's not all it is. It is also an historical novel about the British empire and the tea trade, and about life on a pirate ship. I was surprised by the amount of research evident in the book about sailing and pirate life, the parts of a ship, daily routines and pirate justice.

Of course, this is also a story about culinary delights, and the feasts Wedgewood concocts in the hold of the ship are intricately and lovingly described. The farther I got in this book, the faster I read as I got caught up in the adventurous chase and wanted to know how the story would end. Without spoiling the ending, I will say I found it satisfying. I won an Advanced Reader Copy of this book on goodreads Dec 27, Cody rated it it was amazing.

For the world is a far more expansive and mystifying place than can be said. When I first saw the cover to Cinnamon and Gunpowder I thought, "hmm Set in , master chef Owen Wedgwood is kidnapped by infamous pirate "Mad" Hannah Mabbot after witnessing the killing of his employer at her hands.

Forced to become her own personal chef on her ship the Flying Rose, Wedgwood must cook an exquisite meal each Sunday for Mabbot or meet a terrifying end by her.

It's an interesting and somewhat hilarious concept, and a well executed one at that. There are deeper story elements here, but I won't spoil them. Wedgwood makes a good protagonist. He's a humble Englishman of a professional nature, preferring order and views the world as black and white. Mabbot is the other side of the coin. She's eccentric, theatrical, charming and prefers the finer things in life i. Her and her crew are very akin to Hans Gruber and his group of thieves with their take over of Nakatomi Plaza, and I couldn't help but continue to make the connection between the two.

What's more, the supporting cast is vast and mostly compelling, particularly Mabbot's crew. It was the little details for example involving Mabbot's second in command, the brute yet loyal Mr. Apples, and his affinity for knitting pieces of clothing for his fellow crew mates, or the young deaf cabin boy Joshua who Wedgwood takes under his wing that make the story abroad the Flying Rose fun to read.

It's the rapport that Wedgwood builds with Mabbot and her crew from their travels from England to Asia that really bring this story to life. Eli Brown has done a good writing this book. Quite the multilayered adventure! View all 6 comments. No es tanto culpa del libro. Mezclada con un libro de recetas que, si soy sincera, me ha abierto el apetito en algunos momentos.

El protagonista es un poco plano y anodino. Jul 03, Suzanne rated it really liked it Recommended to Suzanne by: Have you poisoned it? Not having touched food to my tongue all day except to sample, I allowed myself to enjoy the first real meal since my capture. I had removed the fillet from the pan while it was still glassy in the middle and it had continued to cook by its own heat to a gentle flake. Between the opaque striations, wisps of fat clung to the crisp potato breading and resolved upon the tongue like the echo of a choir surrendering to silence.

If he fails, he will become chow for the fishes himself, so the mandate to create what amounts to pretty much a miracle on a weekly basis adds to the tension while Owen plots his escape. Though I have no weapons, nor friends, nor money, nor hope of help, I swear that I will learn the scope of her mission. The main female character is Casey. Casey longs to be free. I liked seeing Casey grow and become a different person. The main male characters are Luke and Bongo. By the fact that these boys are both in love with Casey you would probably think that there is a love triangle.

Rest assured that is not the case. Luke is in love with Casey, but Casey has always kept him as more of friend or brother. Bongo is also in love with Casey, but would never hurt his best friend. He never acts on his love for her, but Casey had wanted him to several times. Luke is an OK guy, but I personally thought his story was boring. This is where what I mentioned about verse comes in. This made him incredibly boring. Bongo though stole my heart from the moment Luke talked about how Bongo not able to see his brother destroyed him.

I loved the setting of Australia. I also read this at pretty good time since they go to the beach a lot. Out of This Place is a novel about finding who you are and I liked how Cameron showed this. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Out of This Place by Emma Cameron. In verse, three teen voices sound. Beach bum Luke works shifts at the local supermarket, and avoids trouble at school.

His mate Bongo gets wasted, blocks out memories of the little brother social services took away and avoids the stepdad who hits him. Casey, the girl they both love, dreams of escaping to a free new life. Published May 14th by Candlewick Press first published February 1st To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Out of This Place , please sign up.

Should you read these books in order? Emma These aren't separate books. Just the one with different narrators. Read from beginning to end and enjoy! See 2 questions about Out of This Place…. Lists with This Book. Cinnamon Rain… what the heck… is that? Secondly, the blurb describes it as about a boy trying to stay out of trouble at school. With a friend who has an abusive stepdad. This friend is called Bongo. And a girl whom "they both love". If that doesn't sound like an Aussie cliche, it's probably be next week's plot line on Neighbours.

Then I also find out it is a verse novel. No offence, I don't either "do" or "not do" verse novels, it just never interested me. But I am a stickler for sniffing out new Aussie talent, so I decided to, as Harold Bishop might say, "give it a burl". Elaborating on what I said before, Cinnamon Rain is told from three different viewpoints in three separate volumes within the novel, following the final year of junior high school when the protagonists decide whether they should continue with their senior education or go out into the world and make their own way.

The novel chronicling this delicate transition period and beyond when naive teenagers become - so to speak - independent young adults. Reading the first few pages, I confidently declared to my husband that it was what I expected - a standard 3 star read. And change my heart I do. It doesn't take long for me to fall into the swing of this novel. When I think poetry, I think of elaborate, purpley wankerage.

This book though is intensely readable, in very sparse language and in all of it's simplicity, it is the most poetic "verse" I have ever read. It is quite simply - beautiful. I am so impressed that despite saying so little, how much I learn about the characters and how intensely I come to care for them.

If this novel was written as standard prose, I don't think it could have said twice as much or said it as well. I love how the novel is set out, with the three inter-related volumes. How we get to get to see the world from one narrator and then the same thing from another character. As opposed to being repetitive, it is actually illuminating and it is clever how the middle volume adds more to the story, with the final volume pulling the story full circle.

If I have anything negative to say about this novel and it really isn't negative, just an observation is that jury is out on the title "Cinnamon Rain" after the completion of reading. I know it is used in the novel, but I wouldn't say it is fully explained and is left more to the interpretation of the reader. I guess it means a red, stinging rain, but not as vicious as "raining blood", which brings me to my segue. This novel had the potential to get very dark, as more than one of our protagonist are forced to leave school earlier than they are ready due to tough family situations, but you just know they will be safe.

And there is a feel to the novel that although realistic, is idealised and sweet. And I don't mean that in a bad way cos I loved that "hopefulness" of it and I especially loved the ending. So perhaps "Cinnamon" Rain is the perfect title for this book. Not the cold "November Rain"; not "Fire and Rain". Obviously written and targeted to Year 10 students contemplating their future, this novel succeeds by being an excellent read for older and more savvy readers due to its sheer heart, universal themes of finding your path no matter your age and excellent writing. I still think the blurb is terrible and I feel it might turn readers off, but I eat my words about this book being like Neighbours.

If Neighbours employed Emma Cameron as a writer, it would be a better show for it. This book really moved me. This review originally appeared here on my blog Books on Marrs. I did not know that this was a verse novel! Oh well, here I go regardless! Why is this book called Cinnamon Rain? Is it some sort of reddish coloured tears that an emo would cry out? But then why is it cinnamon flavoured? BRB when I discover the answer. View all 24 comments. If I were to list all the issues that Cinnamon Rain touches upon, you could be forgiven for thinking this book is heavier than a box of hammers.

And I think that it would be doing this book a great disservice, if it were to be passed over on basis of a misconception about its content. In fact, the opposite is true. Cinnamon Rain is often painfully honest in its portrayal of abuse, homelessness, neglect and isolation. All of the gravity of the story is conveyed, without weighing it down or delving into overly dramatic territory. Rather, Cameron clearly captures the voices of each of her three central characters — and the rawness and yearning that permeate their stories.

Which are both things I did a lot of. Essentially the story of Cinnamon Rain, and the friendship at its centre, feels circular — each narrator picking up the thread and eventually weaving the ends back together. My second favourite aspect of Cinnamon Rain is the handling of the core relationships between Luke, Casey and Bongo.

Despite my initial reservations, I did come around to that nickname. A complicated blend of friendship, attraction, unrequited love and loyalty — the relationships between the characters are exceptionally well-rendered and above all, believable. I felt emotionally invested in these characters and what was happening to them, all the more so as their personal stories began to unravel. It felt like the right way to leave Luke, Casey and Bongo — anything else would have felt like a cop out, to me. I really hope Cinnamon rain finds its way into the hands of more readers, because it deserves appreciation.

If you a fan of contemporary young adult novels, verse novels, or both - do yourself a favour and read it. View all 14 comments. Aug 21, Laura rated it really liked it Shelves: But novels told in verse? Well we bear a more complicated relationship. I ran shrieking in terror at first sight! Haha…With my head held high, heart hammering away—I dived into my first verse novel a little over a year ago though.

Out of This Place is a verse novel beauty! Words and language at their best. Emma Cameron strips these voices and pain right down to the bone. Bare, direct, honest, and gritty. Pure pain, pure frustration, and pure strength push these kids to get out and change their lives.

Find what they want to do in life. Leave the pain behind. So few words on the page, but words that felt perfect, felt right rolling off my tongue. Words that brought these voices alive on the page. Cameron holds a true gift for capturing the grit in life, but also the hope and beauty.

The last note quavers. My heart hovers in the hum and his smile. Friends and voices woven together. Each with his or her own struggle, loss, and sadness. Words did bring this story to life for me, but the unspoken words revealed just as much. I felt like the pages were ready to pop with hidden or unexpressed emotion. So much left unsaid, but yet somehow understood between them. They all found a way to my heart, but Bongo broke mine. Characters with paths they felt like they had to take and did. What moves the story along and moved me the most though was the courage.

I am in awe of these kids. All three displayed determination, strength, and kindness. They were good kids. You will feel it in their unwillingness to give up. Worked and risked everything for something of their own. A part of me just wanted to say—stay, stay in school. But they knew what they needed to do to survive. I was so scared for them at times. Surrounded by danger and people looking to take, use, and abuse. But there are good people out there in the world willing to see, reach out and help too. You will root for Casey, Luke and Bongo from beginning to end.

I will say that the ending is one of my favorites. The very last page is hold up to the heavens perfect. The hope it left in my heart. The hope I felt for them. It was the perfect way for these characters to end their story. Dreaming is just the first step. We have to move, reach, and risk for change to happen. Casey, Luke, and Bongo did not wait for things to change or help to come.

They made the changes happen with hard work and courage. A hard story filled with pain, loneliness, and abuse, but a tremendous inspiration as well. There are so many different roads to take in life. I just hope we all find love and support along the way. View all 10 comments. Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron is set in a small town in Australia.

Luke, Bongo and Casey attend high school together. Luke and Bongo have been best mates since they were kids and Luke has been in love with Casey since she came to their school a few years earlier. While Luke, Bongo and some of their other school friends will hang out after school or on weekends, Casey never joins them. Luke learns that Casey's dad is mean and controlling and she is hardly ever allowed to leave the house.

Bongo doesn't have it much better either. His mum is back in rehab, his younger brother was taken into foster care and he's left at home with his abusive step-dad. Luke often tries to rescue him but he can be there to save him every day. Both Bongo and Casey have plans to leave their town, both need to escape the lives they're currently living. Cinnamon Rain is written in verse, it's the second novel I've read written in verse this year and I really enjoyed it.

I found it flowed easily and quite quickly, the book was over pages but it took me no time at all to read. The book is split into three parts, each one told from a different perspective. Luke was up first, he's a good student, great at cricket and always tries to be there for his best mate and the girl he loves. Casey's story followed and we learn more about her home life. She's sure she was a mistake and that her parents don't love her. Her father is extremely impatient, uncaring and controlling and I wasn't surprised when she decided to get a job to fund her plan to leave home.

Bongo, real name David, finished up the book. He's devastated when his mother abandons him knowing how horrible his step-dad is and when the family who adopted his younger brother revokes his visitation rights. All three of them move on in their lives and Casey and Bongo's situations were both heartbreaking and touching. I found their stories, sad, sweet and very moving and I was happy with the ending too. All of the stories intertwine and we learn more about each character from their friends' perspectives as well. Cinnamon Rain is a book filled with longing, loneliness but most of all love and friendship.

I recommend it to all fans of realistic fiction and Aussie YA. Thank you very much to Emma Cameron and Walker Books for the review copy. View all 9 comments. Dec 16, April rated it really liked it Shelves: I think whenever I read a mediocre book I should just balance it out with an Australian young adult book. For real, I have no idea what they do in the land down under, but they sure do produce a hell of a lot of great reads.

Read the rest of my review here Fortunately, after a long very, very long wait for my order of this book from Fishpond, the Trifecta of Awesome didn't disappoint--Cinnamon Rain is one of my stand out reads of the year. Cinnamon Rain interweaves the stories of three friends: Luke, Casey and Bongo yes, Bongo--his real name is David. They live in a rural town in Australia, each hoping to escape their lives. Luke plays cricket, hangs out at the beach and pines away for Casey.

Casey's dream is to escape their town and everyone she knows, while Bongo drinks to avoid his abusive stepfather and the memories of his little brother taken away by social services. The whole group seems lifted by one small success. Each character narrates a third of Cinnamon Rain this seems like a more common narrative style in Australia than in the U. We follow them separately out of their hometown in their first steps into adulthood.

But somewhere in the mix, I realise that she's not just running away. Her life has focus. What's most remarkable to me about Cinnamon Rain--aside from the writing, which I'll get to in a minute--is that the characters are in Year 10 the Aussie equivalent of sophomore year , but it read as very universal. The characters could have been far older and the story of Luke, Casey and Bongo would have rang just as true. As someone who grew up in a small community in Oregon, I instantly connected with Luke, Casey and Bongo's experiences, and I think anyone who's every wondered, "What else is out there?

It sure is blind, or at the very least, stark, raving mad. Cinnamon Rain doesn't tie anything neatly up with a bow as is often the case young adult literature. However, therein lies the beauty of Cinnamon Rain's story--it made me root for something to occur, but when that didn't happen, I felt satisfied nonetheless with the realistic resolution.

And really, the conclusion of the novel stays true to the theme of new beginnings. Frankly, if I had to say anything critical, my only issue with Cinnamon Rain is that I didn't really understand why the two male narrators were so enamoroured with Casey. I loved the section of the novel from her point of view, and I kept thinking that I wanted to hit Luke and Casey over the head with a cricket bat are they called bats in cricket?

I think, if Casey lived in another time or place she'd be like a fountain-- bubbles reaching everyone around her. Instead, she's as still as a leaf-littered pond, dark water evaporating, waiting desperately for rain. Cameron's debut and, gosh, it sure doesn't read like a debut--this is one sophisticated novel is written in free verse, which I love. I know there are folks out there who cannot stand free verse, and I completely understand why it may seem like just a bunch of disjointed sentences strung together.

However, free verse is so much more. Like all successful free verse novels, Cinnamon rain is rich with metaphor and intriguing literary devices. It's about as Laura referenced the "space between the words" as much as the words that are present. There's a continuity between each verse that works brilliantly I leave it for you to discover.

With this type of free verse, you'll find yourself savouring the words, the descriptions and the rhythm of the story. Don't expect bloated poetic writing, however. The writing in Cinnamon Rain is quite sparse, which is an engrossing contrast, as it is also very visual and emotive.