Entertainment

Carrie is latest vlogger to hit literary world

Fergal Hallahan

Book Cover Handout of All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher, published by Little Brown. See PA Feature BOOK Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Little Brown. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature BOOK Reviews.
Book Cover Handout of All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher, published by Little Brown. See PA Feature BOOK Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Little Brown. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature BOOK Reviews. Book Cover Handout of All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher, published by Little Brown. See PA Feature BOOK Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Little Brown. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature BOOK Reviews.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

All I Know Now: Wonderings And Reflections On Growing Up Gracefully by Carrie Hope Fletcher, published in hardback by Sphere

CARRIE Hope Fletcher is the most recent internet superstar to take over the book charts. For those over the age of about 25, in the 'vlogging' (video blogging) phenomenon YouTube stars create video content, usually of them sitting in front of a camera, in their bedroom, talking about stuff. General day-to-day life, gaming, beauty, fashion... the list is endless, and their thousands (or millions) of subscribers sit in front of their computers and eagerly await their latest upload fix.

Carrie started posting covers of popular songs but as her audience grew – to half a million subscribers – so did her content, and she began to post stories and sit-down videos.

The 22-year-old, otherwise known as 'Tom from McFly's sister', has taken a different approach to other YouTubers' literary debuts by writing a book about growing up, full of help and advice she wished she had as a young teenager.

It's hilariously witty, exceptionally well written and full to bursting with anecdotes. A must-read for all teenagers... if you can grab a copy quick enough.

Emily Pawson

A Song Of Shadows by John Connolly, published in hardback by Hodder and Staughton,

THE latest in Dublin-born Connolly's Charlie Parker series starts with the private eye recovering from a gun attack that almost killed him and, by the end of more than 400 pages of this dark thriller, he is not much better off.

With the sort of luck that has kept him in cases for more than a decade, Parker's move to a small town in the US state of Maine to recuperate coincides with a series of brutal murders which seem to have their beginnings back in the horrors of the Second World War.

Connolly maintains the plot's pace expertly and stocks the story with a cast of grotesque gangsters and killers who give the book more than a hint of horror fiction that makes its stand out in the over-crowded crime genre. This is a dark tale told with a light touch that will send many of it readers chasing down the other dozen books in the series.

Rob Dex

Villa America by Liza Klaussman, published in hardback by Picador

VILLA America, Liza Klaussman's follow-up to her 2012 debut Tigers In Red Weather, takes its name from the Antibes home of Sara and Gerald Murphy – the nurturing couple upon whom F Scott Fitzgerald's Dick and Nicole Diver are based in Tender Is The Night.

And so, accordingly, this is a novel littered with the glitterati of that time: we watch John Don Passos, Picasso and the Fitzgeralds themselves pass through Villa America as the Murphys create a utopian ideal of America in France, drawing others to them.

It should be made clear, though, that this is a book about the Murphys – beginning with Sara and Gerald as children, exploring the way that their friendship progressed to understanding, then to love, marriage, children, the book is fully fleshed out, which confirms that it's not just another Jazz Age novel. This is one to read slowly, on a beach in the South of France with sherry in hand.

Emma Herdman

Eagles At War by Ben Kane, published in hardback by Preface

IF YOU spent countless hours as a child recreating the battles of the Roman Empire, Eagles At War is for you. If you are a history buff who craves an insight into an empire so strong it stretched across Europe and Asia, then read on.

Ben Kane has cut a swathe through the world of historical fiction in much the same way as Rome's legions forged a bloody path through nation after nation. Set in what is now modern-day Germany, the first part of his new trilogy centres on the worlds of Arminius, a tribal chieftan, and centurion Lucius Calvinus Tullus.

Based on actual events and with fascinating detail, it tells of the beginning of the end of the mighty Roman Empire. Arminius plots a hazardous path, ally of Rome with a bitter resentment towards his country's conquerors. Tullus also has to balance his suspicions of the tribal chief against the political landscape where friend could be foe or foe in fact friend.

Kane has put himself at the top of the historical fiction writing tree and with Eagles At War has begun a new trilogy which will leave his fans eager for parts two and three.

Roddy Brooks

NON-FICTION

Breakthrough by Jack Andraka with Matthew Lysiak, published in hardback by Scribe

IT'S A rare 15-year-old who finds additional homework for himself. Rarer yet is one who sets his mind to and discovers an early detection test for pancreatic cancer. But in Breakthrough, Jack Andraka does just that.

Now 18, Andraka's memoir details the events leading up to his innovative discovery. Born into a clever and supportive family who fed his passion for learning, Andraka spent many happy days with them and his adored Uncle Ted. But at school, it was a gloomier picture. Tormented for winning prestigious science awards, Andraka found solace in his studies.

When Ted was diagnosed with and subsequently died from pancreatic cancer around the time Andraka came out as gay, his thoughts turned to suicide. Helped (both emotionally and practically) by his family and finding acceptance with new friends, Andraka galvanised his efforts into finding a way to diagnose pancreatic cancer, potentially saving lives and money in the process.

Despite the odds – including 199 rejections from universities who snubbed the young innovator's requests to perform the tests in their labs – one university took Andraka up on his offer and are currently working on his test. While the tone of the memoir at times feels a bit formulaic, the story is anything but. A heartening and inspirational read.

Keeley Bolger

Billie Holiday: The Musician & The Myth by John Szwed, published in hardback by Cornerstone

ANYONE looking for a sensational and melodramatic biography of Billie Holiday will be severely disappointed by John Szwed's latest offering. But for those looking for an insightful, investigative and even technical look at the iconic jazz singer, born 100 years ago this month, and her seminal influence on jazz and pop culture will find a lot here to sink their teeth into.

There are plenty of entertaining and illuminating anecdotes about her upbringing, rise to fame and adventures with famous contemporaries like Orson Welles and Frank Sinatra, but where this book really stands out from other biographies of the singer is with the author's technical understanding of Billie's songs, his in-depth analysis of her singing style and her songwriting ability.

The book is slightly let down by the fact that nothing is in chronological order, which is at times confusing, but on the whole it's a wonderfully engaging and revealing look at the great Lady Day.

Alison Potter