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36 reviews for:

This Is Shyness

Leanne Hall

3.48 AVERAGE


Vannak könyvek, amikről az ember évekkel korábban olvas valami jó kis ajánlót, aztán nem tud frissiben hozzájutni, de valahol benne marad a fejében, hogy ez valamiért nagy hatással volt rá és amikor szembejön a lehetőség, hogy megszerezze, akkor erre visszaemlékezik és él az ajánlattal. Ez történt a This is Shyness esetében is, ami ausztrál ifjúsági regény mivolta miatt nem nagyon utazott túl az óceánokon, de miután már otthonában bezsebelt díjakat, immár nemzetközi vizekre evezett.

Wildgirl és Wolfboy nekivágnak az éjszakának Shyness-ben. Persze nem ez az igazi nevük, de miután összefutnak egy bárban, ahol a srác szokás szerint a haverjait várja, a lány pedig egy egész más világból csöppent ide és kalandra vágyik, szinte egy pillantás alatt döntik el, hogy nekik együtt kell elindulniuk. Wildgirl, aki a nevével ellentétben nem annyira vad és inkább csak felejtené, hogy mennyire rossz neki a valóság, s úgy tűnik, hogy Shyness, a városnak az a része, ahol évek óta nem kel fel a nap pont megadja neki amire vágyik. Wolfboyban valami megváltozott, amióta beköszöntött a Sötétség Shyness-ben, s ő itt maradt, hogy zenélgessen és a múlton rágódjon. Nem egy társasági ember, közeli haverjaink kívül senkivel se jön ki, s magát is meglepve önként ajánlkozik, hogy idegenvezetője lesz a lánynak, aki egy kis napsugarat csempész az örök éjszakába.

Shyness fura egy hely, régebben külváros volt, aztán 3 éve jött a Sötétség és azóta nem kel fel a nap. Szó szerint. A lakók elmentek, akik meg maradtak, azoknak okuk volt erre. Mint Wolfboy-nak, aki ki nem állhatja a napfényt. De vannak itt gyerekbandák, akik cukron pörögnek és bármit megtesznek, hogy megkapják a napi adagjukat. Meg különös doki, aki szinte hipnotikusan próbálja bebizonyítani mindenkinek, hogy legjobban azt teszi, ha hozzá fordul, s jó pénzért mindenkit mindenből kigyógyít. De mindez Wildgirl számára egzotikum és itt végre egészen másnak érezheti magát, nincs ott a múltja a problémái és olyan dolgokat tehet meg, amikről nem is álmodott. S mindezzel valami értelmet ad Wolfboy életének, ráveszi, hogy ne legyen már annyira passzív és próbálja meg a jó oldalát nézni annak, ami vele történik. A lány szemében a magányos srác egy menő rocksztár, míg a fiú még sose látott ennyire határozott és különleges csajt. S közben még vannak kalandok is, de ez már alig számít.

Tovább: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/2015/03/29/leanne-hall-shyness/

What a weird and wonderful book! I have no idea how to talk about it. But I fell in love with Wolfboy and Wildgirl and Shyness and all it's strangeness.

Review to come.

Text are publishing some fabulous teen fiction - this is another addition to their great range of teen authors. An engaging read with fabulous characters. Perfect for intelligent older teens.

Think of every single cliché in young adult fiction you can.
Go on.
Just do it.
Write them down if you want.
It’s OK, I’ll wait.

*twiddles thumbs*

Done?
This book defies all of them.

I understand in saying that this book defies all clichés is in itself also a cliché because it’s what reviewers tend to say when they can’t really be bothered writing a real review but they want to make it sound like they loved it and keep everyone happy but in reality they wanted to fling it out of the window and then go outside and spit on it… while scowling at random, inanimate objects.

Actually, as I’m skimming through my notes I’ve realised that every single one of my points and examples on how this book isn’t like all the other books and how it is as far away from cliché as something really far away from something else, all I’ve used is cliché things that reviewers tend to say when they can’t actually be bothered writing a real review but what to make it sound like they loved it….you get the gist.
So I’m just going to go with it. In the immortal words of Tim Gunn, I’m going to make it work. I’m going to reclaim those clichés.

Jo Explains How THIS IS SHYNESS Defies All Cliches By Using Lots Of Them.

This book is like nothing that has ever been written before.
Whimsical. Magical. Mental. Mysterious. Fantastical. Intriguing. Surreal. ALL THE ADJECTIVES.
I’ve read strange books and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. For me, this one definitely worked. I devoured it like I imagine a Kidd would devour a bag of Tangfastic Haribo.
And when I say ‘a Kidd’ I mean me.
*jitters*

This book isn’t the typical ‘When girl meets boy’.
It’s when Wildgirl meets Wolfboy. The difference is subtle but it’s there…and it’s sexy.

This book will take you to places you’ve never been before.
I would like to build a duvet fort in Ms Hall’s imagination and stay there forever and ever and only allow people I like to join me. I loved Shyness because it was incredible.
And the best thing about it was that it felt real.
You may be thinking “Um, how did it feel real? Where have you ever been where there is no sun and plagues of delinquent kids roam the street?”
And to that, I answer: Manchester.

I know a few people are suggesting that this book is Urban Fantasy, but I’ve never really read any UF so I can’t add anything to that. All I know is that this book smudges the boundaries of genre. The best way I can describe the setting of the world that Ms Hall created with Shyness is that it’s contemporary…with a bolt of electricity running through its heart.

"There’s a rhythm to Shyness, but it takes a while to feel it."

There were times when I felt like I could’ve done with a map of Shyness but, to be honest, I was more than happy to get lost.

The heroine is different, kooky and feisty.
Wildgirl, I think I love you. You snort when you laugh. You go bright red when you’re embarrassed. You like to go on adventures. You’re fearless. You’re hilarious. You steal hearts. You have messy handwriting. You fancy boys who look like wolves.
Woman, if you get out of my mind long enough we should be best friends.

The hero is strong, tortured and has a past.
Now normally, this is the cliché is the one that makes me the most angry. I hate it when heroes are lumbered with a past because usually it means that they are boring and have no personality and the author needed something to hide that fact.
Wolfboy is the exception to this rule.

“In my panic I forget myself and do what I do best: I howl.”

Awoooooooooooooooooooo.

But then again, Wolfboy is the exception to any rule.
He was the perfect mix of the messed-up kid (who gets nervous around girls, awwww) on a mission to find answers to questions he’s been avoiding for a long time that you just want to protect and cuddle and the sexy guy with a quiff and tight trousers who you would be willing to follow wherever he led.
Is there a better combination?
Nah.

”I’ve got no idea whether the air of danger around Wolfboy is just part of a fashion statement or the real thing.”

It’s the real thing, baby.

The love story is fresh and compelling.
Roll up, roll up… but don’t come too close for what you’re about to hear may shock you, so people with heart defects please approach with caution.
Because within the pages of This is Shyness we have the most strangest and freakiest things you will ever have experienced in literature:

Love interests who actually talk to each other and have a genuine connection with each other based on their personalities, fears, thoughts and desires.

*faints*

And, that’s not all! It’s not forced, cringey, annoying, simpering, dangerous orrrrr illegal either!
I KNOW.

This book won’t be for everyone.
I know this book won’t be for everyone because it’s weird and hardly anything is explained. So if you like every single thing explained and get angry if it’s not, then I couldn’t recommend this book to you.
This is a book where you should definitely leave your disbelief at the door because if you start thinking about it too much, your head will implode. Literally.
It’s best to approach this book with an open mind and… well, just go with it and experience Shyness.

The fantastic Noelle made her own playlist for This is Shyness and Queen of the Night (the sequel) and I felt left out, so I got involved too.

We Still Got the Taste Dancin' on Our Tongues by Wild Beasts.

“Darling, the spirit is kicking.
Don’t be fooled by the moonshine, it’s tricking.”


For me, this song perfectly captures the “smash and grab” feel of Wolfboy and Wildgirl’s story. All about being reckless but having no regrets, just unforgettable memories.

However, there was one part of this book that I wasn’t sure about. It’s right at the end when Wildgirl says that Wolfboys are the best kissers.
Now, I’m not entirely convinced but as I am a girl who likes to have all the facts, I will conduct a highly scientific experiment and kiss him until I am able to confirm that this is a true fact.
Taking one for the team.

Speaking of Wolfboy, I read this book with wonderful Maree and she suggested that we should each share pictures of how we pictured Wolfboy.
I wish there was a song that perfectly matched with my feelings for Wolfboy so you could listen to it while you look at my suggestions.
Oh wait, there is.

Potential Wolfboy Fitties [PWFs]

Alex Turner.
My Ultimate Wolfboy (UW) is Alex Turner.



Look at his Urban Cowboy Quiff (UCQ)!

Seriously though, this book makes me want to have the adventure of a life time and howl at the dark sky above me.

(Original review posted on my livejournal account.)

Why I Read It: I had been reading good reviews of it everywhere it seemed. The clincher was the 9-star rating from The Book Smugglers though. So when my mom offered to buy me some books from Fish Pond World (this book is only available in Australia), I added it to my shopping cart!

I want to get something out of the way first: this book is strange. When trying to pen the genre, it's hard: it has many elements of contemporary fiction, but it's got JUST enough of the otherworldly to make it borderline fantasy. I'm glad I knew this stuff before jumping into the book, otherwise I might have been mildly confused (though it's also possible I may have been happily surprised).

Anyway, despite the strangeness of the book, it worked really well for me. Yeah, we have characters who call themselves Wolfboy and Wildgirl (which is not their real names), and Wolfboy literally howls (thus the name), and there are kids who are addicted to sugar like junkies are addicted to crack, and the setting is a part of a city where the sun never rises, but it never felt out of place or contrived to me. This is quite a feat.

I liked the characters of Wolfboy and Wildgirl; they felt real despite the very unreal things going on around them and they both deal with very real problems; Wildgirl is dealing with being bullied and harassed at school and Wolfboy is still reeling from the death of his older brother. Watching them deal and ruminate (there's quite a bit of introspection from both the characters) over their problems while they're experiencing these crazy adventures was refreshing in its unique approach, but there was still enough overlay between the real and the fantastical that the two worked TOGETHER in a sort of harmony

The book is written from alternating points of view between the two protagonists, and Hall did a perfectly fine job of giving them distinct voices. They sounded teenager-y without being overly dramatic or angsty, despite having some stuff to be pretty melodramatic and angsty about.

There's an unsurprising romance that blossoms between Wolfboy and Wildgirl, and it was very sweet and kind of slow-burning. There's an obvious attraction between the two from the get-go but no insta-lurve to be found. I wouldn't say there's anything 'steamy', but there's something incredibly swoony about it for sure.

The story itself is rather odd. Wildgirl, who isn't from Shyness, ends up in a bar there with some friends from work. She meets Wolfboy and she doesn't really believe him when he says that the sun doesn't rise there, so she decides to stay and see for herself. While gallivanting about, which takes up about a third of the novel, they run into the Kidds, who are basically junkies for sugar, and steal something from Wolfboy. The rest of the novel chronicles their retrieval of that item. What's enthralling about the story though is discovering Shyness along with Wildgirl. It's a sort of magical place with strange people, and strange problems, but still oddly grounded in reality (though a kind of hyper-real one). It's really hard to explain; it's kind of like trying to explain what peanut butter tastes like -- it tastes like PEANUT BUTTER; it's not really comparable to anything else. (The reason I'm using this metaphor is because I'm allergic to peanut butter and I've asked people to describe what it tastes like -- no one's been able to do it.)

Final Verdict: This is a genre-bending novel that has a strange combination of urban fantasy and contemporary fiction elements. These elements never felt disparate to them; they worked in an entrancing kind of harmony together and turned into this odd synthesis that worked really well for me. The characters of Wildgirl and Wolfboy are surprisingly real, which stands in stark contrast to the rather magical place they wander for a night (though this place is oddly grounded in reality as well). It's unfortunate that this book is so hard to get a hold of because it really is a breath of fresh air and succeeds in execution as well as in concept. If you CAN get your hands on it though, I highly recommend it.

I love how different this book is. It has a really good storyline all though i didn't really like the ending. It left to many questions so i hope theres a second one. :D

This books won the award thing and it definitely deserves it. This story is about speaking out and forgiving yourself and everybody else. I would not say this is a fantasy book because it doesn’t have any witches or good and evil forces or a quest to save the world from flying monkeys or whatever but it has some imaginary elements. For example there are sugar crazed Kidds that will do anything (absolutely anything) to get their sugar food. And this place called Shyness don’t have daylight anymore for the past three years (which is not possible which is what I mean by imaginary elements) I normally hate books like that but this book is soooooo good and beautifully written that I don’t care and I can actually imagine darkness everywhere and everything. This is all I will say because I hate spoiling books for other people, I only spoil books for myself by reading the last page which is a terrible thing but sometimes I can’t help it. I didn’t look at the last page and thank God I didn’t.
This book is very, very beautiful and it makes your skin crawl and shiver etc etc. Very, very good read.
Grab this book quick because you have got to read this book and I give it a 4 and a half stars out of 5. That is pretty high.
You will definitely fall in love with Wolfboy and Wildgirl and no, Wolfboy is not a werewolf if you hate werewolves so read it. Now, there is absolutely no excuse.

Weird but wonderful.

Overall: 3

Characters: 4
Plot: 2
Story: 3
Writing: 3
Setting: 3
Enjoyment: 3

Fresh, original, great characters. Atmospheric with an excellent sense of place that really draws you into the dark world of Shyness. If I'm being super-picky a little slow about two thirds of the way through but apart from that great YA novel. Really enjoyed it.