Colours

This book follow a story of Charlie, a new student whose bullied on the first day of his new school. The bullying get so bad that Charlie need to stay on the hospital and then he start seeing color. 
From there it fast forward until Charlie is expected to graduate, and instead of going to school of his choice, he was approached by the institute and the adventure is officially begin. 

Well, this book is enjoyable, the plot twist keep me on my toes and I love how the author construct the fantasy world. The ending also a good bridging for the sequel that I can't wait to read. 

Thank you netgalley and BooksGoSocial for providing the arc.

So this book tells us the story of Charlie, a teenager who moves to a new school and gets bullied pretty badly. He then starts hallucinating colors. We join him as he learns what the colors are and joins an organisation for people like him. 

I haven't read fantasy ya for a while so it was refreshing to read that genre again. I found the plot engaging. I couldn't predict any plot point, I was really on my toes. 

There were a few problems with this book but these problems didn't harm my enjoyment of this book. Even if I enjoyed reading it, looking back I realize there are some issues that could be worked on for the sequel (which I'd love to read!). 

I found that the beginning was unnecessarily long. 100 pages pass by and a lot happens in Charlie's life but not much happens that furthers the actual plot (the colours!). It is meant to set up his character but honestly, for me, it didn't. 

Charlie's character needs some more work. 16 year olds aren't like this. I found his character's behavior a little abrupt at times. He has this very mature style of thinking that felt more like a 30 year old than a 16 year old. He was throwing around commands and acting like he is used to making big complicated plans. I didn't find it believable character development. 

As a reader, I don't entirely understand why colours matter. Is this a supernatural thing? A gift thing? I'm excited to get answers but I hope they'll be satisfying. 

I hated Mina. I really did. I found her obnoxious and I didn't like her "I'm so intelligent and know everything" vibe. It made it hard to connect to her and so, as the plot continued, I simply didn't care. The only positive thing about her was the description of her Norwegian accent. 

There were some typos. Nothing too serious but yeah, I recommend an editor goes over this again just to make sure. 

Other than that, I have high hopes for this book! It's a debut and I truly believe the author (who seems like such a sweet and kind person based on his author's notes) has potential to make this series a ya classic. Looking forward to hearing more about Charlie!

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! 

Charlie (not Charles) is the new kid at school. Raised by a single dad, Charlie is witty, sweet, and just wants to get off this God forsaken island and get back to the town they moved away from. This feeling is amplified when Greasy and his lackeys beat the ever-loving shit out Charlie on the first day of school, landing him in the hospital. Charlie's problems don't just begin and end with being the school pariah - Charlie starts to see Colours? Wait, no really, those people are surrounded by soft glowing Colours! It must be the trauma... Except its not. Soon, Charlie is thrust into a secret society where he is not alone in his abilities and where a secret war wages that he will be forced to join against his better wishes. 

Mr. Crombie, you have done a magnificent job making Charlie come to life. This is the type of character that I laugh with, cry with, want to smack him, and want to hug him. His voice is strong and clear. He is witty and lovable. 

"My oasis is a desert if embarrassment, a desk to call my own."

This is true for most of the characters in Colours. From Charlie's dad to Jo, from James to even Rafaela.

Speaking of Charlie's dad, next to Jo and Mina, he was my favorite support character. His love and belief for Charlie were infectious. 

"'Can I get you anything?" Dad shouted from the kitchen. "A new spleen?" "All out. I'll see what I can find at the supermarket." ... Dad handed me a can of liquid sugar and a bag of chemical goodness. "That will have to do until I can buy some new organs. Do you think they'll be in the deli or the frozen section?'"

I cannot wait to read the second book in the series and see what happens with Charlie. I hope Charlie can get over his awkwardness a bit and see that Jo is just as interested in him as he is in her!

Colours by Alastair Crombie 

Wow at first I didn’t like this book at all but the more I got towards the end it started picking up and I fell in love with it. It’s a hard book to start and get sucked into it but I loved it! 

4 stars

Colours is a special novel and is clearly a set up for a series. If you are after self-contained, fast-paced action, do not come here. The focus of this book is very much on character and situational development. As a result, we have a very well developed Charlie, who has a very wonderful relationship with his father. We see his struggles in moving to a new place and the bullying that occurs, setting the stage for the unleashing of his gift. Charlie is a very mature young man, not a typical 16-year-old. This can be justified by how he has had to grow up; some may find him too atypical, but as a high school teacher, I find that more and more, 16-year-olds are actually reaching this level of maturity, for good or bad. The concept of Colours is very interesting and I am very much looking forward to the next book.

Colours is an exceptional book. The story kind of grabs you and wrestles you down into the gritty mud of adolescence: metaphorical skinned knees, bloody nose; it's like a bike wreck. Crombie makes sure we'll be picking gravel from our road-rash for days to come. Yes. It's that good. Or that bad. 
It's that Real.
I cant wait for Charlie's next adventure.

An excellent debut novel.  The characters were likeable and real, I cared about their stories and I was sad when it ended.   Not overly heavy into the Sci fi/fantasy theme. Looking forward to the next one already.

I needed some time to become a part of the story, but now I can't wait to read the second book of Alastair Crombie! After the first section it is such an interesting and fast story. I'm really curious where the story will go to.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this quirky book

poor charlies first day at his new school isnt going at all well, he falls foul of the school bully and before he can sort this situation out things get out of hand and get a lot worse for him

after a near death experience an ostracised charlie never could find anyone to make friends with and as he counted the days till his school years were over,his only plan was to do his A levels back at his old place...and live on his own,having no idea how he would be able to survive on his own..

but before this could happen fate intervened...and charlie was invited with his dad for a visit to a mysterious place .....

i found this book very easy to read and flowed really well..i liked the idea of being surrounded by colours and i do wonder what those connections mean for the future....and most of all the characters were very likeable, the added drama was a bonus and i look forward to the next in this series

will be keeping an eye out for more of this authors works