Karen Tayleur

"Six" is quite a chilling little read and from the start the reader knows that this book is not going to end well. Six teenagers' lives become entwined after a shocking discovery during the summer holidays before their final year at school. However, they choose to ignore it for fear of ruining their hopes and dreams, and quickly they are drawn into the frantic world of Year 12 with its exams, parties, relationships, drivers licenses and decisions about the future. Yet their discovery show more continues to haunt them and leaves them feeling uncomfortable around each other until they find themselves all in the same car after a late night party.

The blurb at the back of the book indicates that the story is narrated by six voices, which isn't true. Sarah is the main protagonist with an occasional chapter focusing on the other five teenagers and in my opinion it doesn't quite work. The use of first and third person narrative, flashbacks, diary entries, SMS and vlog entries is clever but I would have preferred that each character had an equal share of the story. The excerpts from children's nursery rhymes at the beginning of every chapter are rather creepy and give the reader an indication of what to expect in the coming pages. The ending is great! In fact I read it three times just to make sure I understood it properly. A gripping read! show less

I always enjoy books with unreliable narrators and this, although not the best, was quite an enjoyable read. Throughout the book various versions of events are interwoven so it is difficult to decide which is the real story. The reader is confronted with Tully's interview with the police, her childhood recollections, snippets from her treasure box as well as her own story. Even though Tully is not a really likeable character, she has had a tough life and this has made her stubborn and rude, show more you do fin yourself sympathising with her by the end of the book. show less

I have mixed feelings about this book, there were some things that worked and others that just didn't. In the end the book let me scratching my head a bit but there are still some good things going on here.

For the most part I liked the characters in this book, particularly artistic type Dylan. I would swoon for that boy in a second. I loved all the scenes he and El were together. For the most part I liked the main character El but it got to the point where she was a bit too obsessed with show more Eric, who she's had a crush on forever and it starts to get rather annoying. I liked the basic set-up, girl trying to get through high school but it just never fully played out in my opinion.

The book could be pretty funny yet sad at times, I especially enjoyed El's sessions with her therapist Leonard, where she wouldn't say anything the whole time for the most part. Also, this book is written in short chapters so it makes it very easy to get through, I really liked that.

I think what really bothered me about the book was the ending, it was very loosely wrapped up and then had this strange twist at the end, which basically contradicted something the author had previously stated, basically she pulled a fast one. While it did make sense, it was just sort of out of nowhere.

All in all an ok enough book but it didn't really have enough resolution for me. show less

Excuses is the first in the series of humorous chapter books, David Mortimore Baxter, written by Karen Tayleur for reluctant and struggling readers, grades 3-6. Self-described as high-interest realistic fiction, Excuses features subheadings, “handy tips”, spot illustrations, text full of font changes and extra spacing designed to appeal to its target audience; also includes a glossary, discussion questions and writing prompts to encourage use as classroom reading. Presented as the faux show more journal of the series titled character, David, who is constantly talking and consequently getting in trouble, Excuses provides advice for getting out of doing homework and chores, as well as describing the excuses adults use. Targeted readers will identify with David’s humorous anecdotes of the realities of life for contemporary children, with each chapter focusing on particular problem or issue of growing up in today’s world. David’s motivations for his rationalizations are appropriate for his age and stage of development; the consequences of David’s negative behaviors ring true to experiences of middle class American children. The targeted audience will devour Excuses with gusto, but any pretentions of literary merit are non-existent. Excuses is perfect for encouraging growth and development for struggling readers and helping them develop the confidence to read more challenging literature. show less