Leanne Michelle HallCríticas

Representation: Asian Australians, Black Australians, biracial main character
Trigger warnings: Abduction and murder of a teenager, racism, assault

6/10, after reading another Australian book called When Rain Turns to Snow which I enjoyed despite its heaviness I was hoping that I would enjoy this as well; sadly I didn't due to the many flaws within this and I doubt that I'd pick this one up again, where do I begin with this. It begins with the main characters Chloe and Natalia living their normal lives and sometimes one of them sees racism and calls it out which I found preachy and initially I thought it was a one off but there would be more things like this. Everything looks fine right up until the disappearance of Yin Mitchell and that left me on the edge of my seat at first but as time ticked by the case got colder and no evidence or perpetrators could be found and Chloe and Natalia just spend their time on school stuff like art projects despite what's happening; I didn't like either character because they weren't fleshed out or developed at all, not to mention they were annoying. I can understand why the library put this in the realistic rather than the crime section because the only crime aspect is just Yin disappearing and it's not focused on finding her rather it's about her peers' reactions. In the end Chloe tried to find the perpetrator and she thought she did but it turned out to be a red herring but anyways Yin's body was found but not the killer and they just hold a funeral for her wrapping up the book on a low note.

3.5

"The Gaps" was a dark, heart-wrenching YA novel with an intense plot line. The story follows the Year 10 students of Balmoral Ladies College after one of their own, Yin Mitchell, is kidnapped. The novel is narrated by Natalia (the queen of Year 10 and Yin's former best friend) and Chloe (the bi-racial scholarship student who is struggling to find her place at this new, prestigious school). The girls are starkly different characters but their narratives combine well to explore the concepts of grief, racism, privilege, censorship, artistic expression, and the treatment of females in society.

The author portrays the feeling so fear, guilt, anger, confusion, grief and hopelessness that the girls are experiencing in an authentic manner, and the tone of the book is tense and atmospheric. As I work in an all-girls secondary school I could easily imagine what it would be like if something like this happened at our school and the sense of vulnerability these young women would be facing.

If you are looking for an enthralling mystery then "The Gaps" is not for you. It does not focus on Yin's disappearance but on the reactions of the girls left behind. A poignant read.½

3.5 to 4 stars.
The Gaps is not a typical thriller or mystery, I usually don't read this genre but from the start of the book, I was into it and got so into it later on.

The plot follows the students of Balmoral Ladies College as they deal with a student abduction. Yin Mitchell, a well liked year 10 is the abducted. The story focuses on two totally different schools, Chloe, an Asian scholarship girl and Natalia, the queen bee of the year level.

This book had me turning the pages very quickly, the tension and suspense was written so well and I was in turn, invested in the outcome.

The writing suited the atmosphere and tone of this book which was fraught with tension. The writing was so realistic that it breathed life into the characters.

The characters made this book, they were so powerful with their thoughts and actions. They were written both so differently and both felt equally

Chloe was a well written character, she's not your typical fly under the radar student, her way of being an introvert and artist really have her some uniqueness.
I loved how someone so uninvolved with Vin as Chloe was could feel emotions about the abduction, showing that abductions affect not just people close to the missing person.

Natalia was very complex, and I loved how bold she was. Her personality really came through with the writing. She is definitely a lot more flawed then Chloe and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Her real emotions when written, felt so real that I could visualise the way she was feeling.



I loved the way they are polar opposites yet they seem to click and contrast eachother perfectly. I loved how Natalia kept everything under the mask to hide her true self, on some level, I really knew how it felt to try to express yourself a different way then you really want to.
I loved Chloe's introverted ways, fear of expression and socialising.
Both of them are not truly seen and I think that's something important to remember about them.

The outlook on sexism and racism was so relevant to the story due to the racial representation and obviously gender experiences. The feminism messages were cleverly written. I loved the way the paranoia of the girls of Balmoral was conveyed. The terror concerning Yin’s kidnapping was also realistic.

I loved the development of Chloe and Natalia. Chloe conveys her expressions into art, as well as important messages. For Natalia, her realisation of the casual things that were normalised was powerful to me and how she realised that normalised things aren't always okay.

Overall, this book was really powerful and very engaging. It has strong yet subtle messages of feminism as well as the struggles of teenagers and the true effects abduction has on the ones left behind.

2.5 stars
Sadly, it was just ok, I read the first quarter to a half properly before just somewhat skimming the rest. Taking the words in but not really. It was a very lyrical book but I just found parts of this to be weird. The book does defy alot of cliches though. After about 90 pages, I was restless and bored.

The endless night that once brought Wildgirl and Wolfboy together is now the one thing holding them apart. The suburb of Shyness is changing, no longer filled with its dark creatures and strange happenings; it is now a place for the lost and the dreamers. But it is not just Shyness that has changed. Wildgirl has lost her spirit, her fearlessness that once brought her to Shyness and to Wolfboy. But Wolfboy too is changing, losing his howl and his identity along with it.

After six months Nia has given up on returning to Shyness, to Wolfboy and to her identity as Wildgirl. Jethroh too is moving away from his Wolfboy identity, spending more and more of his time out of Shyness and the dark endless night. But neither can run from the darkness of Shyness, nor the darkness within. For the darkness hides dreams and in dreams nightmare become more real then life, and in a place like Shyness where the night is endless who can tell the difference between a dream and what is real.

The Queen Of The Night takes you back to a place were fantasy and reality merge. In a dreamy landscape of endless night there are those that will sleep their lives away and others who use the dark for their own ends. As Wolfboy and Wildgirl once again reunite under the darkness of a Shyness endless night they are once again drawn into the strange and the extraordinary and drawn together by the light of each others warmth. And just as light is returning to their lives, Shyness is beginning to see an end to a very long night.

Die Nacht von Shyness. Wildgirl trifft Wolfboy.
Sie möchte ein Abenteuer, er möchte ihre Nähe. Sie begeben sich nach Shyness, einem Ort an dem die Sonne niemals aufgeht.
Es wird eine Nacht, die sie beide verbinden wird.

Wildgirl ist in jeder Beziehung die Wilde. Sie weiß was sie will. Sie wird der Motor, der Wolfboy antreibt, der sonst in seinem eigenen Ich versinken würde. Beide haben eine Geschichte, die ihnen nicht guttut.
Im Laufe der Nacht findet Wildgirl eine goldenen Kreditkarte und Wolfboy wird sein Feuerzeug geklaut. Beides bringt sie dazu in die Barracken einer Kindergang einzubrechen und sich die Erinnerung wiederzuholen.

Ehrlich?
Dieses Buch war nichts für mich. Ich las ein Kapitel und musste es beiseite legen. Um mich dann wieder aufzuraffen. Und es dann wieder zur Seite legen. Es war schwierig. Wolfboy ganz in sich versunken, aber(natürlich) gutaussehend. Mit der kleinen Macke, dass er heult wie ein Wolf, aber niemand scheint sich daran zu stören. Und Wildgirl, die zwar nach außen hin immer einen frechen Spruch auf den Lippen hat, aber innerlich doch sehr traurig ist und (natürlich) auch sehr gutaussehend ist. Ein perfektes (optisches) Paar umspielt von einem Hauch Geheimnis und Tiefgründigkeit. Fast schon schmalzig. Obwohl ich die äußere Wildgirl irgendwie doch mochte, besonders in den Dialogszenen.
Insgesamt ist dieses Buch doch eher einer jüngeren romantischeren Zielgruppe gewidmet, auch wenn die Autorin sich wehrt mit Twighlight verglichen zu werden, spricht sie mit diesem Buch aber genau diese Zielgruppe an. Und die bin ich leider nicht.

First of all I did not read the first book and it took me a good part of the book to figure out who the characters were and what the story was about. It's not the fault of the author or publisher but I feel that this is one book where you need to read the series in order as there isn't much in the way of backstory here in the second book.
So the two main characters are Wolfboy (Jethro or Jet-Ro) and Wildgirl (Nia).. Wildboy lives in Shyness, a town that is under perpetual night, while Nia lives in a more regular section as far as day/night goes. Apparently six months before they shared a night of adventure with some sugar-addicted kids and monkeys (that's the first book). But they haven't been in touch since. But Wolfboy is worried about his friend Paul who is hanging with blue-clothed people under the aegis of Dr Gregory (again from the first book so I think he's supposed to be bad but it's not clear). Dr Gregory is running a sleep clinic using Datura to capture dreams. So Wolfboy gets in touch with Nia so they can work together to figure out what's going on?
By the end of the book I wasn't sure that they had found out anything. The characters are interesting and were what kept me reading, but I wanted to know more about Lupe, Diana, Blake, and Amelia than I ever found out. The concept behind the story, the town of Shyness that is cloaked in perpetual night, is a good one but there were so many loose ends in the story that don't seem to be resolved: why the fighting pit, what is the matter with Wolfboy, why did the sugar kids leave, why is Dr Gregory stealing dreams?
Ultimately this was an unsatisfying book for me. I love Martin Millar's books so this should have been a great read for me, but it never felt like a complete story. I received this book as an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.

This Is Shyness gave me a very strange feeling, and I absolutely love its oddness. The cover is not very catchy (I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover), but the title just somehow caught my sleeve and screamed, “Look at me!” And well, I fell hard for it. Reading this book is like having a dream, a very captivating one, where the border between awake and asleep is so thin and fragile that the strangest thing become the most realistic. And the gripping adventure yet fill with stillness will steal your mind before you even realize it.

Shyness is a place where the sun doesn’t rise, literally, and only in that area, because right next to its border to Panwood, the sun still high and shine. It did once though, but for some reasons, it slowly stopped, and the Darkness come. Everything about Shyness is so fascinating, so exotic to me. There are many hidden secrets here, and the sun never rise high enough to expose them. Shyness gives people the creeps, but also the inquisitiveness nonetheless. I mean, who wouldn’t find a place where the 24 hours is darkness, sugar-addicted kids with monkeys roam the streets and abandon buildings, and people with moon-tan, unexcited right?

The story follows Wolfboy and Wildgirl, with their faithful encounter. Both are very similar in many ways, with unsettled issues that troubled them every night. When Willdgirl convinced Wolfboy to give her a tour around Shyness, this is when their adventure began, and they never expected what is coming.

I love Wildgirl. She’s smart, lively, and has a very unique character. She got herself into many dangerous situations, but not because of her reckless. She is the kind of girl who knows what is important for herself and choose wisely to either ignore or fight for it. There are many unanswered questions about her life, and that only makes me keep turning the pages just to know more about her.

Wolfboy is a very intriguing character, and we got to stay in his head quite a lot, and that just make me like him even more. He’s energetic, charming, and well, howl a lot (another unanswered question). All the details about him make you think you know a lot about him, but it turns out all strange and unexpected. You can see he cares for Wildgirl very much, and this couple is, well, oddly apposite. And it makes the book more interesting.

This book is a dream where you don’t want to wake up, an unforgettable experience. It captures you with all it whimsicality and unforeseen twists. This book is a living example for the quote “Books are portals to other worlds.” Leanne Hall has created a very special and unique dream, a kind of dream everyone what to experience once. And the ending… Well, let just say I’m lucky to have the second book in my hands right now, or I might go crazy with all the secrets.

I highly recommend this and excuse me, because I need to hide in my corner and happily “attack” the second book now.

Read this review and more on https://bookisglee.wordpress.com

Queen of the Night doesn’t let me down, as expected. While This is Shyness is full of oddness and strange things, this book is like a perfect mix between dream and awake.

The story picks up six months after where it left us in This is Shyness. The only problem is, our Nia and Jethro haven’t spoken to each other ever since they said goodbye. No text, no phone call, and that make Nia very frustrated. She moved back to her life, found a new job at a vintage clothes shop, and tried her best to forget the beautiful howling boy she met in the area where the sun never rise. But with a small trigger and a short voice mail, Nia was dragged back to her adventure with Wolfboy in Shyness.

Nia (a.k.a. Wildgirl) is awesome as ever. Every actions, every comment that she made in this book make me love her even more. The best thing that she’s ever said in this book (in my humble opinion) is “I’m going to impress him with my giant brain.’’ when her mom said that she is “hot”. I mean, it sounds quite informal, but hey, isn’t it the best thing a girl could say?

Jethro (alias Wolfboy) is charming like always. He helped out Ortolan, watched over his niece, Diana, and worked on his band. But when trouble came, and he had to find a way to get his best friend back, he contacted the girl that he had missed every day since that faithful day of goodbye. Well, let just say, the adventure begins again, amazing as always.

Queen of the NIght gives me another unexpected experience, again. The plot twists and action scenes are breathtaking. The only problem is, I expected this book will answered all of my questions from This is Shyness, but it doesn’t. This so-called “problem” doesn’t make the book less awesome, but my curiosity seems to attempt to kill me right now. So I hope there will be at least a third book in this series, and I’m very looking forward to it. And I recommend this book, I mean, how couldn’t I?

Read this review and more on https://bookisglee.wordpress.com

2.5 - sadly not for me.

The bizarre goodreads summary of this book combined with numerous (mostly positive) reviews left me feeling intrigued, excited and just a little bit apprehensive about starting [b:This is Shyness|8061032|This is Shyness (This is Shyness, #1)|Leanne Hall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271587590s/8061032.jpg|12741086]. I can deal with a certain type and level of weirdness, [a:Margo Lanagan|277536|Margo Lanagan|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1241999604p2/277536.jpg] is one writer of the bizarre that I can appreciate a lot, but in this novel the strangeness just felt a little ridiculous. I couldn't connect with the characters and, after the initial surprise at this very strange world I'd been introduced to, I became bored.

It must be noted that it was only the first half I read properly, the third quarter I skimmed, and the last I never made it to. I felt like the story didn't quite sit right in any world. For example, whilst reviewing [b:Divergent|8306857|Divergent (Divergent, #1)|Veronica Roth|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327873996s/8306857.jpg|13155899] I pointed out that the book would have been more forgivable if it had been a fantasy, because anything goes in a fantasy world and the characters aren't subject to the same constraints and scrutiny we give to "real world" characters. Because they're supposed to be fantastical. But Shyness, though an imaginary town, is still set in the real world and it seemed out of place. Some other GR members have commented that reading [b:This is Shyness|8061032|This is Shyness (This is Shyness, #1)|Leanne Hall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271587590s/8061032.jpg|12741086] is like having a weird and wonderful dream... and yes, I can see that. But like having a dream, this novel didn't feel real, I didn't believe in the characters and the world of Shyness. It felt like a cross between Wonderland and Oz - two other dreamworlds - without being as exciting as either of them.

The entire novel is about the two protagonists - Wolfboy and Wildgirl - and their relationship with one another, as well as their own personal issues that they're trying to overcome. They go on a bizarre journey around Shyness as Wolfboy attempts to introduce Wildgirl to the town where the sun never rises. I like this idea in theory, the town of night reminded me a lot of Ixion in [b:Burn Bright|9433912|Burn Bright (Night Creatures, #1)|Marianne de Pierres|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312805103s/9433912.jpg|14318452], but that was a novel where I felt a better connection to the characters and story - perhaps because it is set in a world nothing like our own.

In terms of writing, it is a very pretty and lyrical book (this is why I awarded the extra .5 star). I could quote you plenty of lines and, for now, just this one will do:

"I howl at the roof like a hotted-up bomb doing donuts, full of screeches. I howl like an air-raid siren, my arms stretched out wide. Howls are like songs. They can't be summoned; they just happen. They come from a place that I barely understand. And then something else climbs to the surface, something black and jagged, something from the deep. Imagine all your worse feelings surfacing. Imagine coughing up razor blades. Imagine not being able to stop the pain from coming out, and not knowing when it's going to end."

Unfortunately for [b:This is Shyness|8061032|This is Shyness (This is Shyness, #1)|Leanne Hall|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1271587590s/8061032.jpg|12741086], enjoying a book is about more than a creative writing 101 lesson, it's about more than beautiful metaphors and similes... but still, credit where it's due.

We all love Aussie young adult fiction, nine times out of ten it's brilliant, and some people will love this book. For me, I wanted something more, I guess I'm just not one of those readers who enjoys books that feel like I was constantly high while reading them. I think, for the most part, my love of aussie fiction belongs in the realistic category: [b:Raw Blue|6989576|Raw Blue|Kirsty Eagar|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266111020s/6989576.jpg|7231905], [b:On the Jellicoe Road|1162022|On the Jellicoe Road|Melina Marchetta|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1212708945s/1162022.jpg|6479100], [b:Good Oil|8079815|Good Oil|Laura Buzo|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1298925793s/8079815.jpg|12803237]... all the authors of these books have a talent for emotions and getting inside the protagonist's head, Wolfboy and Wildgirl couldn't live up to my high expectations following this.

Holy Sweet Mother of dubs-tee-eff. I'm still wrapping my thoughts around this one. Here's what I've come up with: the Brothers Grimm meet up with Pablo Picasso during his Blue Period for a drink. They decide it's going to be a GREAT idea to make a Before Sunrise martini with a younger lad and lassie splashed with the Neverending Story and shaken with the surrealism of a dream.

You with me?

On second thought, I am not really sure if it's possible to adequately define This Is Shyness. Leanne Hall has managed to create something that feels entirely 'other'. You can't put the book into any neat little category; it's simply young adult, and that's about as far as you are going to in terms of categorizing.

The good news is that this cocktail goes down fairly smoothly. Hall's narrative swings through from start to finish, and Wildgirl and Wolfboy both are intriguing, resourceful characters who come to bat with their own set of problems. Wildgirl comes from a way-less-than-privileged background and is dealing with some serious B.S. at school because of it. Wolfboy is living in a singular pit of sorrow - you know the kind - it's the sort of hole a person has to fight and claw to get out of. It's a random night that these two find each other, and it leads into an absolutely crazy, no-rest-til-dawn adventure. Hall's writing really shines in her characterization of these two, and you will get to know them and their thoughts through the wonderful internal dialogue she gives to both.

Beyond that, it's difficult to discuss the book without giving too much away. Shyness is just over the border from where Wildgirl lives, yet she never heard how the sun doesn't rise there. The fact that you can't really pin down the setting makes reading the book feel a bit like falling down Alice's rabbit hole - you can't tell if this is an alternative reality, a futuristic setting, a paranormal community - everything feels familiar, but it's not - I won't say it's like a dream - it's a bit more maddening than that. It's something akin to Dorothy's returning to Oz and finding it turned upside down, or Mac's reaction to there being a 'secret' Dublin that's disappeared off of maps and been forgotten about in the Fever series. It's a familiar unknown.. I got the feeling that the darkness which encompasses Shyness is somehow connected to Wolfboy's sadness, who holds special status in that community. Or perhaps his sadness is a singular symptom of its overall origin. Things happen: embarrassments endure, deaths occur, addictions develop, social pressures constrict, etc. It's the self-determination and the connections with others, the support that gets you through. Shyness doesn't feel like a place of punishment for the things that have happened to you in life, but more like a place of suspension, a consequence of not talking about and moving through the things that have happened.

The balance and two-person dual narrations make this a fast-paced story that doesn't lag. The surreal situations and people they encounter hold your interest and sometimes boggle you. There is a play-counter-play between Wildgirl and Wolfboy's POVs, and it really offers insight into just how easily looks and words can be misconstrued, especially between two people who hold an attraction and growing affection between them. There is a sweetness in their vulnerability that helps you connect to them as characters. There is a bare bones honesty in their hushed confessions that make you repect their experience. I'd love to be friends with them both.

However, that same connection also drove me nuts with not getting clear answers to some questions. The upside is that This Is Shyness is so 'other', so unlike anything else that I've read, that it gave me the ability to 'just deal' with the lack of answers. Here's the thing with with this book: as with any new person you might meet, you have to take the book as it is. There is no comparing it, no standard to hold it up against, not with this story. It has a beginning, middle, and an end that doesn't feel like an end - it feels like a continuation. That's not to say that there is a sequel, because in all honesty, I get the feeling that there won't be one (although I would love answers to my questions). It's more like the characters are going to 'swing through' if that makes sense.

But, really, 'swinging through' does make sense in This Is Shyness. The story here is not in some neatly wrapped up plot; it's in the character details: the shy looks, the hanging conversations, the private confessions and resolute actions. They're like puzzle pieces that make up the same picture, but don't quite match up at the edges. You try to force the edges into each other, rather than just let them complement each other, then you are going to come up frustrated. But if you let the story just 'be' what it is, then you have something singularly special. This Is Shyness is the quirky friend you might never fully understand, but once you stop trying to figure it out and pick it apart, you will fall into it's unique personality and truly appreciate it for what it is. And the story is about two young people who don't find answers, but by coming together, they come to terms with facing the questions. There's a lot of beauty in that.

3.5/5

Shyness is a suburb - with a difference - there is only darkness and night. Wolfgirl meets Wolfboy and together they discover their persona - where they belong. They both reveal to each other their insecurity, pain and lonliness. Together they fight a gang - discover freedom and understanding. A good read!

A mysterious, beautiful boy with a scruffy appearance and tendency to howl introduces himself as Wolfboy. A fearless, captivating girl with an adventurous spirit insists on being called Wildgirl. In one night these two are drawn together with only a look. But this is no ordinary night, for in the suburb of Shyness there exists only darkness and the night, and Wildgirl has chosen Wolfboy to be her guide to this endless night.

In their separate lives Wolfboy and Wildgirl are both fighting a darkness, but in the cover of night they are able see past the cool, calm and fearless persona each have adopted to reveal the pain, insecurity and loneliness felt on the inside. After encountering wide-eyed tarsiers, sugar-crazed kids, a gang of land pirates, an enchanting gypsy and one very dangerous doctor, Wolfboy and Wildgirl are able to find in each other a light in the darkness.

This Is Shyness is an urban fantasy that explores the darkness, both literally and figuratively. In a suburb that never sees the sun it is easy to feel as though the world is nothing more then a dream, easy to believe that monsters do exist. But in the darkness there can also be found a sense of freedom, deeper understanding and total acceptance. In the darkness can also be found love. But just as every night must end, everyone will find a ray of light in this story of night.