Review! Mother Tongue by Julie Mayhew

I read The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew last year, the review of which you can read here, which was such a powerful and truly thought-provoking book. I was therefore awaiting her next book Mother Tongue with muuuch anticipation. 

Set in a small Russian town, the story follows Darya as she navigates the path to her future, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack at the local school, which leaves many young lives lost, including her little sister. Darya has spent the last six years essentially raising her sister Nika, with their mother bedridden since the birth, and so the loss of her life and her presence in Darya's life is monumental. The community is shaken and in recovery when foreign aid workers and journalists arrive to cover 'the story'. 

Darya's search for a way out of her hometown and the boring life that lies ahead of her, at first has you rooting for her to achieve her pencil-pot and secretary-friends dreams. But as she becomes more lost you begin to question her escape from grief and the importance of home. Darya is this stubborn, strong willed character, too big for her small town, but too naive for a big city like Moscow. 

Where The Big Lie had you calling for revolution, Mother Tongue leaves you at lot more introspective, asking questions of how to define identity, home, and grief. Mayhew is a brilliant author, and I can't wait to see what comes next.

I received a copy of Mother Tongue from Hot Key Books in return for an honest review. 

Top 5 Feminist Young Adult Fiction

There have been some really really great feminist offerings in the YA scene recently. Exposing young people to feminist ideas through fiction is an awesome way to spread further understanding of the topic, as so much of the media we consume filters into our everyday conversations and reactions. These are some of my favourite recent feminist young adult fiction offerings, and I know there are plenty I have still yet to read. After writing this post I realised Holly Bourne, author of Am I Normal Yet?, featured below, has written a guest post of Queen of Contemporary with her Top 5 Feminist YA, thankfully the whole list isn't the same! It's a great list, check it out too! Also, all these book are by female authors!

Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill

A feminist commentary set in a dystopian future, which is an unsettling reflection on out current reality. Body image issues, living for the pleasure of men, female friendship and rivalry, queerness and breeding boys, this book covers a lot of bases. Louise O'Neill's second book Asking For It, is out soon, and tackles the issue of consent. Review here!

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne

The focus of this story is on Evie's OCD recovery process at a new college, but the backdrop of figuring out feminism with her new best friends is great. The Spinster Club is an inspired idea, and while not all their ideas are spot on (here's a little bit of a trans-exclusive chat) the point is that they create themselves a space to talk it all through and figure it all out.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart

Frankie attempts to take down the patriarchal old-boys-network of her prestigious boarding school from within, by anonymously taking over an elite secret society. Her chats with her older sister on the phone, who has gone to university and discovered women's studies and feminism, are brilliant and provide a chance for Frankie to sound out her own thoughts on the topic. There is no doubt in the readers' mind by the end of the book, that Frankie is going to continue trying to question everything, and tear down to patriarchy. Review here!

Lorali by Laura Dockrill

Not an overt feminist young adult offering, Lorali is a story of a mermaid who comes to land, of  the pirates on her trail, and her new friends on land. The feminist undertones lie in the matriarchy of the mermaid community, deep in the sea, the male pirates who are meticulous in their beauty regimes and tailoring (stereotypically feminine concerns), and large part of the narrative narrator by the female voice of the sea. Little twists like Lorali feeling confident to make the first move, because that's how it's done down in The Deep, are perfect. Review here!

The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew

Set in 2012 in contemporary Nazi England, lead character Jessika Keller leads a life a total submission, just as she and all her peers have been taught. Through her outspoken and rebellious friends Jessika begins be more aware of the constraints on her freedom as a women in the setting of The Greater German Reich. Power, sexuality, patriarchy, and censorship are al explored in this great feminist YA offering.

August TBR

I have lots of exciting books to read this month, so many that this list may in fact change quite a bit if I fancy reading something else! I've also been itching to finish off my Harry Potter reread, so The Deathly Hallows may end up making an appearance too. And I have some gooduns on the way from Hot Key Books and a NetGalley shelf to get through too!

So tentatively, here is my August TBR as it currently stands:


-I've heard a lot about The Ship, I think booksandquills mentioned it in a video. It sounds dystopian and fantastical, and I was very excited to find an ARC copy in Oxfam Books!

-I also found Church of Marvels in Oxfam Books, which I think will be a nice follow on from The Ship.

-I also have Marina Keegan's The Opposite of Loneliness, which I'm hoping will fill me full of hope and wisdom in my current unemployed state.

-An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield was in Fopp's 2 for £5 deal, and I vaguely remember this being recommended by a booktuber recently too. I'm hoping it won't fill me entirely with despair, and hopefully also give me hope and wisdom.

-I received a copy of Heap House from Hot Key Books in July, and it looks weird and wonderful so I'm looking forward to that. The second in the trilogy is Foulsham, which is already out, and the third, Lungdon, is out in November.


I also have Holly Bourne's Manifesto On How To Be Interesting and The Big Lie by Julie Mayhew on my kindle, and Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa. They all look GREAT. Happy Reading!