Black in Aussie Book Club

Apr 18, 2016 Rachael rated it it was amazing

I love to be entertained, compelled to turn pages, kept guessing, caught by surprise and intrigued by a story. Fleur Ferris accomplishes all of this with Black. Ebony Marshall is fascinating character, living under the shadow of a 'curse' or at least the shadow of suspicion, speculation, superstition, mistrust and fear.

Things I loved:
*Ebony's resilience, her coping strategy, her determination to get on with life despite the gossip and fear surrounding her life. We meet her at the stage where she I love to be entertained, compelled to turn pages, kept guessing, caught by surprise and intrigued by a story. Fleur Ferris accomplishes all of this with Black. Ebony Marshall is fascinating character, living under the shadow of a 'curse' or at least the shadow of suspicion, speculation, superstition, mistrust and fear.

Things I loved:
*Ebony's resilience, her coping strategy, her determination to get on with life despite the gossip and fear surrounding her life. We meet her at the stage where she is ready to confront the snide commentary on her 'bad luck'. She's unapologetic, sarcastic, blunt, angry. All qualities I love in a protagonist, especially the angry part. (I just love angry young women. I'm not sure why - probably because it's an emotion traditionally attributed to men, like its somehow unbecoming for women to be angry while it is expected and celebrated in men) There are a couple of moments in the story where Ebony is overcome by rage and she lets loose in a way I find immensely satisfying. I think it taps into my over developed enthusiasm for street-justice, lol, even though I just know it's sure to have completely dreadful consequences, which of course it does. It doesn't lessen my satisfaction in that moment.
*superstition: one of the most compelling aspects of the story and its core thematic drive is around the issue of belief. The Whisperers, the Pure Apostles, blind devotion and wild theology drive them to extreme acts. I found Ebony's response to their madness so believable (and entertaining.) Her survival instinct to use their beliefs against them had me laughing in triumph, I found myself thinking: yes! That's exactly what I would do to get out of that situation! (Heaven forbid I ever need to, lol)
*demons & exorcisms: having watched the Exorcist at an age that was probably far too young to avoid horrific psychological scarring (Ack!!) there's still a part of me that wants to hide under my blankets and cry for mum at the subject matter but the big girl part of me which has been fed on 11 seasons of Supernatural, & a 1990's diet of Buffy the Vampire Slayer laps up this wildness. Now what the Whispers lack is Sam & Dean's pragmatic salt the bones and burn it approach ... but then again they also lack a demon. What they do have is sky high religious fervor and a bunch of insane methods for purging the devil, featuring among other techniques, vast quantities of plastic wrap! I kid you not. As outlandish as that may sound, The author informed me that the backstory to Black is inspired by ACTUAL EVENTS that occurred in small town Australia and in several other cases she researched! She sent me one article which I read with my jaw hanging open. Holy Toledo Batman.
This story whips along in Fleur Ferris' trademark no-messing-around-plunge-you-straight-into-the-action-style. I was gripped and entertained throughout. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 30, 2016 Kelly (Diva Booknerd) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: bookgasm, penguin-random-house, loveozya

Fleur Ferris is spectacular. Black was a brilliant blend of a contemporary, mystery and exploring small town prejudice and one girl's fight to live. Ebony Marshall's young life has experienced devastating grief, but yet the seventeen year old is still able to hold her head high despite now being a social pariah. Once affectionately known as Black, now it holds negative connotations after losing multiple friends in devastating accidents. Her only friend is her work colleague Ed, only a few years Fleur Ferris is spectacular. Black was a brilliant blend of a contemporary, mystery and exploring small town prejudice and one girl's fight to live. Ebony Marshall's young life has experienced devastating grief, but yet the seventeen year old is still able to hold her head high despite now being a social pariah. Once affectionately known as Black, now it holds negative connotations after losing multiple friends in devastating accidents. Her only friend is her work colleague Ed, only a few years Ebony's senior and someone who has never judged her as others have, as a curse and plight on the small community of Dainsfield.

What endeared me to Ebony was her determination and resilience. She's been subjected to the taunts of her peers and given a wide birth by the community since losing her small group of friends at such a tender age, labelled as a curse and unable to grieve for all she had lost. Ebony refuses to be bullied or belittled, especially against those who the Pure Apostles have convinced Ebony is a threat to their children and community. It's after Ebony begins to develop a relationship with new student Aiden when the Whisperers begin an aggressive campaign against the teen, when an accident sees Aiden's life holding by a thread and the small town of Dainsfield begins to unravel.

The Pure Apostles are a religious cult, with a history devoted to exorcising demons. Ebony has been labelled as a threat since conception and as the secrets of Dainsfield threaten to erupt, Ebony will need to fight or risk becoming yet another urban legend. The Whisperers were undeniably alarming, following the teachings of Father Ratchet who is the driving force behind the curse of Black Marshall. Ebony is watched, monitored all by a group who remains anonymous, leaving the reader unaware of which characters belong to the unhinged congregation. Ebony's storyline may be fictional, but all too similar to cases all over the world where religious leaders have faith cleansed parishioners in similar circumstances, giving Black's storyline an eerie and unsettling emotive.

Although Incredibly disturbing, Black was completely riveting. I was unable to tear myself away from Ebony's narrative and the town of Dainsfield brought to life. Fleur Ferris is a remarkable storyteller, sharp, accomplished and confident. I loved the unpredictability. It left me feeling unsettled and reading long into the night. Absolutely compelling and I loved every moment.
http://www.divabooknerd.com/2016/07/b... ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Feb 07, 2016 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it liked it

Shelves: penguin-australia, review-copy, young-adult, thriller

Having read many YA thrillers, the bar is set quite high for me. Black approaches the thriller genre in a unique way, presenting a girl who is presumed to be cursed by the rest of the town. It really captures the small town feel, where rumours can spiral out of control and everyone knows your business. There's also an uneasiness of Black's alleged curse that is captured throughout its pages.

However, I struggled with the romance in the novel, and the love triangle that appears which seemingly de ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Sep 18, 2016 Danielle rated it really liked it

Such a thrilling and easy read! I didn't want to put it down because I just wanted to know what was happening!
I haven't read anything like this but now definitely want to try more!

Full review up on my blog:
https://thechroniclesofdanielle.wordp... ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Apr 13, 2016 Becky Johnson rated it it was amazing

Wow. Just wow. Fleur you've done it again.
This book had me on the edge of my seat, nail bitingly, mind blowing and wanting more.

This book follows Ebony Marshall who has lost a few friends and people soon after say she is cursed.
She doesn't go out to any event, just school, work and home.
That was until a new kid asks her out to the school formal and she decides to take that chance but he unfortunately ends up in a coma.
Is there a curse? Is it pure coincidence?
I won't spoil nothing but I can ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Sep 26, 2016 Steph Cuthbert rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, loveozya

4.5 stars.

Creepy as all fuck. I may never sleep again.

3 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2016 Cassie rated it liked it

Shelves: read-in-2016

I had heard good things about this book, but unfortunately it just didn't impress me.

I was still reasonably enjoyable, but I found it fairly predictable, which made it lose a lot of the creepiness and suspense.

Also, I spent some time rolling my eyes at the romance. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Jan 19, 2017 Elly rated it it was ok

Shelves: australian-author, thriller

Personally; I found the prose clunky and that disconnected me from all attempts to create tension in relation to the story. Also I correctly predicted some things which made me roll my eyes. I'm sorry for being a cynical bitch. ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Aug 31, 2016 Felicity Harber rated it really liked it

I could barely put this book down. Especially towards the end! It's an interesting topic to write about and am interested in how the author chose this. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 08, 2017 Breanna rated it really liked it

Shelves: reviewed, loveozya, standalone, 2017-reads

If you ever want some good Australian fiction that manages to fuze romance and thriller with a healthy dose of contemporary setting, Black should be your go-to book.

Meet Ebony, also known as Black, a girl who is cursed (or so people say). Her friends and past boyfriends have all mysteriously died once Ebony gets too close to them, something Ebony is all-too aware of. But when a new guy starts to show some interest, Ebony decided to take matters into her own hands and create her own destiny, curs If you ever want some good Australian fiction that manages to fuze romance and thriller with a healthy dose of contemporary setting, Black should be your go-to book.

Meet Ebony, also known as Black, a girl who is cursed (or so people say). Her friends and past boyfriends have all mysteriously died once Ebony gets too close to them, something Ebony is all-too aware of. But when a new guy starts to show some interest, Ebony decided to take matters into her own hands and create her own destiny, curses be damned. But people of the town still talk, strange things keep happening in Ebony's life and it isn't long before Ebony starts to uncover the origins of her 'curse'.

The second release from Aussie YA powerhouse Fleur Ferris promised to deliver a thriller that would have you turning the pages until you reached the end, always hoping to discover the next tiny piece of the puzzle and Black delivers. It's quick and Ebony is always moving meaning that the reader is always moving which also makes it a fast read but the attention to detail is great and you never miss a thing. Even though Ebony is left in the dark in regards to her parents history with the creepy abandoned house and Father Ratchet and his devout follower Ged (a former friend of Ebony's who now adamantly believes that Ebony is cursed more than anyone else) the information she's given over the course of the book doesn't feel forced and it doesn't feel like an info dump either. Ferris knows exactly how to dole out the snippets of knowledge so readers aren't left confused or overwhelmed.

While the romance is a little too quick for my personal liking (perhaps due to editing constraints) and I'm not always a fan of love triangles I thought it was refreshing that both Ed and Aiden could have been really good for Ebony and it could have very easily gone either way. There wasn't any of the good guy/bad guy dichotomy and it's even noted towards the end that perhaps in another world Ebony would have ended up with the other guy.

I loved the underlying cult/religious aspects that served to intensify the suspense and it truly reminded me of Lili Wilkinson's The Boundless Sublime (another #LoveOzYA standalone novel that delves deep into cults and will totally creep you out for weeks). Perhaps it wasn't as real as Ferris' Risk but it's still a book that will get you thinking and maybe even just second-guessing those people in the periphery of your life.

Review originally published on http://booksandbre.wordpress.com ...more

Like · see review