Book Review - The Year of the Rat

The Year of the Rat
Author: Clare Furniss
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Childrens, Young Adult
Release Date: 24th April 2014
Publishers: Simon and Schuster
No. Pages: 320
Source: Review Copy - Simon and Schuster
Rating: 
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I always thought you'd know, somehow, if something terrible was going to happen. I thought you'd sense it, like when the air goes damp and heavy before a storm and you know you'd better hide yourself away somewhere safe until it all blows over. But it turns out it's not like that at all. There's no scary music playing in the background like in films. No warning signs. Not even a lonely magpie. One for sorrow, Mum used to say. Quick, look for another.

The world can tip at any moment.. a fact that fifteen-year-old Pearl is all too aware of when her mum dies after giving birth to her baby sister. Told across the year following her mother's death, Pearl's story is full of bittersweet humour and heartbreaking honesty about how you deal with grief that cuts you to the bone, as she tries not only to come to terms with losing her mum, but also the fact that her sister - The Rat - is a constant reminder of why her mum is no longer around.

The Year of the Rat and I did not at any point gel or get along, we didn't become best friends and I doubt I will even remember this book in a few weeks time. I appreciated the cover, it does look beautiful with the colours used and the relativity of a baby, and even that little touch on each chapter, each month was really sweet, but it couldn't at all make up for how disconnected I felt from the story and how much I really wanted to slap Pearl, numerous times.

My biggest problem with this book was Pearl. To start with, it didn't feel as though Pearl was as old as she was, she constantly sounded much younger, around twelve or thirteen and whether this was because the author wanted her to appear young and naive or whether it was just a mistake, I don't know, but that seriously frustrated me throughout. Add that to the fact I couldn't connect with her at all, the story was pretty much a whitewash for me. I could fully understand what she was going through, the affects her mother dying had on her and how she resented the baby that took her Mothers place, but being spiteful, difficult and forgetting just how much that loss affected other people was just unacceptable. If it wasn't for the fact that this story was a very easy and a very quick read, I probably would have DNF'd it completely because of Pearl; because of her voice, for the first time in months, I felt like I was just reading a book and not getting anything out of it, no emotions, no feelings, no nothing.

My second problem with this book was Pearl's mother. Now, I don't want to give anything away, but I seriously could not and still cannot understand what made the author think that the route she took in creating the relationship between Pearl and her mother was a good one. It generally felt like it didn't fit with the story whatsoever; it completely threw the entire 'grieving for your loss' out of the window. Put that snugly with her mothers personality, attitude and choices and well, I'm not surprised I didn't like either of them, especially if it's Mother like Daughter.

I really felt like I missed the entire point behind this book. The romance was pretty naff, with no believability involved whatsoever, the connection or lack there of of one with 'The Rat' was pretty poor and the entire execution of the story was quite disappointing. I can't help but think if I hadn't read another 'grief' styled book, Me Since You so close beforehand, I may have felt a little better about The Year of the Rat, but I doubt it would been much of an improvement. In the end, there's not a lot I can say about my experience with this book, because as the saying goes, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all, and it's difficult to try and pinpoint and single feature and area I enjoyed. I have a feeling this book just missed the mark with me and to someone else, it could be fantastic, so if you're interested, do check out other reviews too and get a more balanced opinion.