* I have received this book for review from the author but this in no way affects my review *
Title: North of Porter
Author: Kirkland Ciccone
Source: Received from Author
Publisher: Strident Publishing Limited
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary of North of Porter from Goodreads:
Teenager Porter Minter arrives in Castlecrankie in a car that has no door handles. In the boot is a suitcase. In the suitcase is a boy. In the boy is the future and the past. The Armpit of the Universe wasn’t Porter’s destination of choice, and he’s shocked by what he finds there. Teenagers are disappearing. JFK is skulking in the schoolyard. Crop circles are appearing. Perhaps Porter and his scheming parents aren’t the town’s only new arrivals. Armed only with a genuine designer bag and his razor-sharp wit, Porter sets out to confront evil…and look fabulous.
Book Review Summary:
When the author contacted me to review this book, I jumped at the chance to read it as the plot was so weird but I like weird. The book definitely lived up to my expectations being wonderfully weird and being a highly entertaining story. I would definitely read anything that Kirkland Ciccone writes.
Plot:
Plot:
The plot of North of Porter, follows Porter Minister as his family move to a new town, Castlecankie. They have secrets but so does the town and Porter will try to uncover both secrets with his handbag.
I was definitely invested in the plot from the first chapter as it opens with something that makes you want to carry on reading, it is almost addictive. This secret is one of many with make you want to carry on reading just so that you can find out what is going to happen. I was definitely not expecting some of the answers and there were definitely some plot twists that I did not see coming which was definitely nice to see considering some plot twists in YA can definitely be quite obvious. The book is definitely solid in plot and I really did enjoy how the book finished, as it answered all the questions that had.
The plot of North of Porter was definitely unique which I liked because it did not have a lot of typical tropes that you see in YA. This made the plot really interesting as you do not know where it is going to go. Ciccone definitely takes the plot somewhere which is different and unique. I have you say that the plot is fresh and new, something you have definitely not seen before.
Characters:
The characters in North Of Porter were also very unique in terms of what we see in typical YA. They were not clichéd and were also very enjoyable to read about. Porter is my favourite character just because he is so weird. But weird in a good way, he knows that he is different and I like that and definitely respect him as a character carrying a hand bag in his daily life. I did also like his witty and sarcastic nature and how he reacts to the situations he is put in throughout the book because there are a lot of them to even count. Along with Porter, came his parents who were equally weird but I definitely would not say they were wonderful. As soon as they are introduced as characters you know they are terrible people and start rooting for Porter from the first page. His parents were interesting and it was nice to learn more about them over the course of the film. The side characters are also equally funny and enjoyable to read about and were characters that I did not tire of reading. Overall, I really enjoyed the characters in the book.
Writing:
Overall, North of Porter was a well-written book that was a joy to read with interesting qualities that you don't often see in YA fiction. I definitely like the writing in North of Porter, it kept me engaged at all times and made me laugh at many points in the book. However the writing was done slightly definitely as Porter's inner thoughts or the manifestation of his thoughts were often crossed out which was interesting. I liked the fact that Kirkland Ciccone's for the decision to add a mental health to Porter as I do actively find books that have mental health in them and this one was definitely done very well. The writing was also fast-paced and I enjoyed the pop-culture references in the novel especially the Doctor Who references and the fact that Porter lived in Beckham Block as that made me laugh out loud when I read it. The chapter headings in the book and the reports added to the book was a nice touch and added to the overall reading experience. Overall, I enjoyed the writing in this book.
The Verdict:
Overall, North of Porter is a well-written piece of YA fiction, with great enjoyable characters and I highly entertaining plot that is a great introduction of weird YA. I highly recommend especially as it was one of my favourite books of last year.
Have you read North of Porter? Did you like it? Leave it in the comments below.
See you soon,
Amy
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