It’s been such a long time since I last read a book - our ‘Readers’ book club has died a sad little death, and when it comes to relaxing once the kids are in bed, escaping with a book is usually the last thing on my mind! Saying all this though, I’ve found myself getting increasingly sucked into the black hole of social media comparison, and beating myself up about my imagined flaws etc, so it’s probably about time I switched off and enjoyed a treat from the literary world!
It was only a couple of weeks ago, when I was casually scrolling through my blogger inbox, that I noticed an email asking if I was interested in reviewing the latest novel by Raz Rix – a 20 year old aspiring author and musician from South Africa. This felt like just the push I needed to remind myself that I am actually able to read things a little more complex than pooping dinosaurs - much as I love anything by Tom Fletcher – so I jumped at the chance to try it out!
Paper Cut Outs is the second novel by Raz, and a standalone work which gives a brief glimpse into the life of a seventeen year old girl as she bridges the gap between high school and college, across a summer punctuated with catastrophic life events. Aimed at the young adult population, Raz attempts to address some of the feelings and experiences common to many teenagers as they face the pressures of sex and drugs within today’s society.
The novel is written from the first person standpoint, through the eyes of Teagan Foster, with the story unfolding approximately two months after the tragic death of her younger sister. Teagan lives with her twin brother, his best friend Caleb and her mother, who seems to be hated by everyone. Her father moved out the previous month, after discovering her mother’s infidelity, and has not had much to do with the family since. She is then plunged into the middle of a new family, and the associated social group of her new sibling, where her relationship boundaries are tested to their limits. There is heartbreak, betrayal and a considerable amount of self-loathing, all of which seem to be common occurrences in the life of your average teenager.
Despite the fact that I was once a teenager myself, I found it very difficult to relate to this main character. While I can’t comment on how I would feel after the death of a sibling, or being piggy-in-the-middle of an unfaithful marriage, the rest of the turmoil encountered by Teagan seemed a little far-fetched. Perhaps it’s my experience of being a teen mum but, throughout the story, I could only think about how trivial her problems seemed in relation to the grand scheme of things, although I’m sure my (almost teen) daughter would disagree! Due to this huge difference of opinion, I was left feeling distanced from Teagan, which then made it very difficult to engage properly with the story. That’s not to say the novel wouldn’t appeal to other audiences, I just don’t think it was a fit with me.
Regardless of my opinion, Raz has achieved an amazing feat by publishing her stories for the world to read - it’s not something that I’d be able to do, and I admire her drive and determination! If I could offer any advice, or perhaps constructive criticism, it would be to spend a bit more time polishing the kinks out of the finished product. There were a number of times that I found minor spelling or grammatical errors, which disrupted the flow of my reading. I also wonder if the whole novel would benefit from being presented in the form of diary entries, as I feel that this could dispel some of the confusion which older readers may encounter.
Have any of you guys read either of Raz Rix’s novels? Perhaps you enjoyed her debut novel, ‘Just Your Average Girl’, and would recommend it to others?
*I was sent a copy of Paper Cut Outs for the purpose of a review, but all opinions discussed within this blog post are my own.
*I was sent a copy of Paper Cut Outs for the purpose of a review, but all opinions discussed within this blog post are my own.
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