#S.K. Wright | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sneek-m · 7 years ago

Photo

Monthly Listening: January 2018

The first month of the year is always a little awkward. I never know where to really start, so I end up doing a lot of random digs. The usual suspects are here, mostly K-pop, missed 2017 titles and IDM. But I’m mostly stoked to discover the work of Kensuke Ushio, whose new soundtrack for the latest Devilman Crybaby show drew me in. Still got to dig into his music for Ping Pong: The Animation and earlier works, but the A Shape of Voice soundtrack is just stunning, and I recommend for anyone want a dose of some tranquil synth ambient.

I wrote a Listening column for a few selections from this month’s listening. I reviewed Dadaray’s debut album, Dadastation. And if you want words on K-pop, I wrote about some of my favorite mini albums from January.

I started a new Spotify playlist series for these monthly listens. You can listen to all my favorite finds and adds outside of my Song of the Day series from January here. And here’s what I checked out this month:

2018 albums

Bedbug -- I’ll Count to Heaven in Years Without Seasons

Chung Ha -- Offset

CupcakKe -- Ephorize

Daniel Avery -- Slow Fade EP

Fall Out Boy -- M A N I A

fromis_9 -- To Heart

iKON -- Return

Infinite -- Top Seed

Kensuke Ushio -- Devilman Crybaby

LSDXOXO -- Body Mods

Maxo Kream -- Punken

Mika Vainio, Ryoji Ikeda, Alva Noto -- Live 2002

Momoland -- Great!

MXM -- Match Up

Negative Gemini -- Bad Baby EP

Oh My Girl -- Secret Garden

Payroll Giovanni & Cardo -- Big Bossin’, Vol. 2

Pearson Sound -- Truancy Vol. 200

Peggy Gou -- RA.607

Phew -- Voice Hardcore

Scallops Hotel -- sovereign nose of (y)our arrogance

Shopping -- The Official Body

Stray Kids -- Mixtape

Suzy -- Faces of Love

Tribulation -- Down Below

VAV -- Spotlight

Yu Su -- Truancy Vol. 201

2017 albums

Alice Glass -- Alice Glass EP

Billie Idle -- Last Album

Ciel -- FADER Mix

Cyclo -- Id

D.K. / S.K. - D.K. / S.K.

DJ Mustard & RJ -- The Ghetto

DJ Richard -- Path of Ruin

Epik High -- We’ve Done Something Wonderful

Erika Nishi -- Soiree

Joan Shelley -- Joan Shelley

Miguel -- War & Leisure

Monari Wakita -- I am ONLY

Nabihah Iqbal -- Weighing of the Heart

Negoto -- Soak

Omar S - Dekmantel Festival 2017

PAELLAS -- D.R.E.A.M.

PASSPO -- Cinema Trip

Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement -- Ambient Black Magic

Sevyn Streeter -- Girl Disrupted

Shy Glizzy -- Quiet Storm

Toiret Status -- Nyoi Plunger

Tropical Interface -- Orchid

Tsuzing -- 一瞬千撃

Various Artists/Atlus -- Persona 5

Virtual Self -- Virtual Self EP

You’ll Melt More! -- Youtopia

Zomby -- Mercury’s Rainbow

外神田deepspace -- Shinjuku Lights

Non-2018 albums

ABC -- The Lexicon of Love

Bell Witch -- Four Phantoms

Brandy -- Brandy

The Cranberries -- Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Won’t We?

The Fall -- This Nation’s Saving Grace

The Gaslight Anthem -- The ‘59 Sound

The Go-Go’s -- Talk Show

Gojira -- L’enfant Sauvage

Groove Theory -- Groove Theory

Jonny L -- Sawtooth

Kelis -- Kelis Was Here

Kensuke Ushio -- A Silent Voice OST

Kool G Rap -- 4, 5, 6

Living Colour -- Vivid

Mariya Takeuchi -- Variety

Megumi Wata -- Blindman

Michael Jackson -- Dangerous

Morning Musume ‘14 -- 14 Shou ~The Message~

Oh My Girl -- Pink Ocean

P.M. Dawn -- The Bliss Album...?

Prince -- Batman

Ralo -- Diary of the Streets

Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku -- Anarchy

Stellar -- Sting

Sumire Uesaka -- 20 Seiki no Gyakushu

Suzanne Ciani -- Buchla Concerts 1975

Teena Marie -- Wild and Peaceful

Tommy Wright III -- Feel Me Before They Kill Me

u-ziq -- Bilious Paths

Voices from the Lake -- Live at MAXXI

W -- 2nd W

Whitney Houston -- Whitney Houston

X Japan -- Jealousy

Zazou / Bikaye / CY1 -- Noir et Blanc

#Monthly Listening

2 notes · View notes

falling-through-lost-spaces · 7 years ago

Text

Books Owned But Unread

Fiction:

Joe Hill - The Fireman

Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr Ripley

Emma Cline - Girls

Kirsty Logan - The Gracekeepers

Seth Patrick - Lost Souls

Slyvain Neuval - Waking Gods

Mark Z. Danielewski - The Familiar Vol 1

Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project

Austin Wright - Tony & Susan

Patricia Highsmith - Carol

Darcie Wilder - Literally Show Me A Healthy Person

Tracy Chevalier - New Boy

Andy Weir - Artemis

Michelle Paver - Dark Matter

Robert Daws - The Posisoned Rock

Laura Lam - False Hearts

Italo Calvino - If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler

Megan Bradbury - Everyone Is Watching

Sunil Yapa - Your Heart Is A Muscle the Size of A Fist

George R.R. Martin - A Clash of Kings

Sarah Moss - The Tidal Zone

Matthew Blakstad - Lucky Ghost

Toni Morrison - Tar Baby

Jeff Vandermeer - Annihilation

Colson Whitehead - Zone One

Kathy Reichs - Death Du Jour

Ann Cleeves - The Crow Trap

Ward Moore - Bring the Jubilee

Lisa McInerney - The Glorious Heresies

Chuck Palahniuk - Haunted

Michael Crichton - State of Fear

Neil Gaiman - How the Marguis Got His Coat Back

Agatha Christie - The Double Clue

James Patterson - NYPD Red 2

Maud Pember Reeves - Round About A Pound A Week

Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In the Yemen

Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Daniel H Wilson - Robopocalypse

Yann Martel - Life of Pi

David Wong - John Dies At the End

Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada

James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man

John Ajvide Lindquist - Let the Right One In

Gregory Maguire - Wicked

Richard Yates - Revolutionary Road

Paul Beatty - The Sellout

Jane Shemilt - Daughter

Jane Isaac - The Truth Will Out

Karin Slaughter - Genesis

S.K. Tremayne - The Fire Child

Isaac Marion - The Burning World

Adrien Bosc - Constellation

Laura Power - Air-Born

Laura Power - Earth-Bound

Keith DeCandido - House of Cards

Wayne Simmons - Flu

Harper Lee - Go Set A Watchman

Dean Koontz - The City

Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre

Ali Smith - The Accidental

John Burnside - Glister

Lauren Owen - The Quick

Tom McCarthy - Satin Island

Dave Eggers - The Circle

Donna Tartt - The Secret History

Robert Harris - The Ghost

Michel Faber - The Fire Gospel

Michel Faber - The Book of Strange New Things

James Patterson - Pop Goes the Weasel

Jeff Lindsay - Dexter’s Final Cut

Gaston Leroux - The Phantom of the Opera

Banana Yoshimoto - Kitchen

Sinclair Lewis - It Can’t Happen Here

Kurt Vonnegut - Cat’s Cradle

Joseph Heller - Catch 22

Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Bram Stoker - Dracula

Cory Doctorow - Makers

YA/Children's Fiction:

A.S. King - Still Life With Tornado

Patrick Ness - More Than This

Andrew Smith - Stand Off

Andrew Smith - The Alex Crow

Johan Harstad - 172 Hours on the Moon

Ernest Cline - Ready Player One

Tommy Wallach - We All Looked Up

Karen Thompson Walker - The Age of Miracles

Tess Sharpe - Far From You

Leila Sales - This Song Will Save Your Life

Darragh McManus - Shiver the Whole Night Through

Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Laura Lam - Pantomime

Laura Lam - Shadowplay

Cassandra Clare - The Bane Chronicles

Cassandra Clare - Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

Cassandra Clare - The Shadowhunters Codex

Cassandra Clare - Lady Midnight

Cassandra Clare - Lord of Shadows

Andrew Smith - 100 Sideways Miles

Karen Nesbitt - Subject To Change

Anna Day - The Fandom

Brendan Reichs - Nemesis

Chinelo Okparanta - Under the Udala Trees

Nina LaCour - We Are Okay

Sarah Alexander - The Art of Not Breathing

Liz Kessler - Read Me Like A Book

Lisa Williamson - The Art of Being Normal

Laurie Halse Anderson - Wintergirls

Marie Lu - Legend

Eve Ainsworth - 7 Days

Lesley Walton - The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Malinda Lo - Ash

Larry Duplechan - Blackbird

Makina Lucier - A Death Struck Year

James Patterson - Witch & Wizard

Jandy Nelson - I’ll Give You the Sun

Nick Burd - The Vast Fields of Ordinary

Libba Bray - Beauty Queens

Jack Cheng - See You In the Cosmos

Jennifer Niven - Holding Up the Universe

Becky Albertalli - The Upside of Unrequieted

Lauren Oliver - Replica

Ken Catran - Deepwater Black

Will McIntosh - Burning Midnight

Tahereh Mafi - Shatter Me

Libba Bray - The Diviners

Emily M Danforth - The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Carolyn Jess-Cooke - The Boy Who Could See Demons

Bali Rai - Killing Honour

Gayle Forman - If I Stay

Andre Aciman - Call Me By Your Name

E. Lockhart - We Were Liars

Katie Coyle - Vivian Versus the Apocalypse

Leah Thomas - Because You’ll Never Meet Me

David Arnold - Mosquitoland

Laure Eve - The Graces

Lisa Heathfield - Paper Butterflies

Ransom Riggs - Hollow City

Em Bailey - Shift

Francesca Haig - The Map of Bones

Rainbow Rowell - Carry On

Bryony Pearce - Phoenix Rising

Lou Morgan - Sleepless

Graham Marks - Bad Bones

Jess Vallence - Birdy

Teri Terry - Slated

Non-Fiction:

Brian Cox - Human Universe

D’Arcy Jenish - The NHL: A Centennial History

Greg Oliver - Don’t Call Me Goon

Andrew Hodges - Alan Turing: The Enigma

Susan Cain - Quiet: The Power of Introverts

Carl Sagan - Cosmos

Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Brian Cox - E = mc“?

Stacey Schiff - The Witches

Julian Sayarer - Interstate

404 Ink - Nasty Women

Lynn Povich - The Good Girls Revolt

Michael Finkel - The Stranger In the Woods

Kent Russell - I Am Sorry To Think That I Have Raised A Timid Son

Luke Harding - Snowden

Mary Roach - Stiff

Yuval Noah Harari - Homo Deus

Bill Bryson - The Lost Continent

Naomi Klein - No Is Not Enough

Dave Cullen - Columbine

Ian Nathan - Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts

Bob McCabe - Harry Potter Page To Screen

Adharanand Finn - Running With the Kenyans

Aurellien Ferenczi - Masters of Cinema: Tim Burton

Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner - Think Like A Freak

Olivia Lang - The Lonely City

Michelle Tea - The Chelsea Whistle

Simon Singh - Big Bang

Tristan Taormino - The Feminist Porn Book

Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without A Country

Nick Frost - Truths, Half Truths & Little White Lies

Russell Brand - Revolution

Robert M Pirsig - Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Francis Spufford - The Child That Books Built

Dominic Hibberd - Wilfred Owen

George Vecsey - Baseball

Richard Wiseman - Paranormality

Neil Gaiman - Adventures In the Dream Trade

Nicola Field - Over the Rainbow

Jaclyn Friedman & Jessica Valenti - Yes Means Yes

Elizabeth Kolbert - The Sixth Extinction

Eddie Izzard - Dress To Kill

Stephen Smith - Underground London

Plays/Poetry/Short Story Collections:

Tom Hanks - Uncommon Type

Joe Hill - Strange Weather

Dean Atta - I Am Nobody’s N*****

Amerlle - Because You Love To Hate Me

Roxanne Gay - Difficult Women

Mark Gatiss - Queers: Eight Monologues

Graphic Novels/Manga:

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 6

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 7

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 8

#books #to be read

3 notes · View notes

bookreviewsforfellownerds · 6 years ago

Text

Mail Monday

I was stuck for an idea for a blog post and I saw this online and as I had recently had books delivered this week, I thought I’d share. I don’t normally get this many books, I just treated myself with an order of books.

Currently Reading: It ends with you by S.K Wright (more…)

View On WordPress

#blogmas #book haul

0 notes

diverseladybookproject · 6 years ago

Text

Hey y’all! I’m back from my hiatus, and would you look at that! I changed the name of my blog and updated a bunch of things! But never fear, my reviews were always full of sass and feelings, so nothing about the content is going to change. I was gone a while, so I have some catching up to do. But I was so busy that my reading really took a dive, so this isn’t going to be super long or anything. Anyway! Here we go!

Here’s a reminder of my cuter than words rating system (puppies!):

0 Dogs Petted: DNF, I couldn’t get through this book. It’s not a good day.

1 Dog Petted: It was an okay day. I mean, I got to pet a dog. But it could have been better.

2 Dogs Petted: A solid effort. May recommend.

3 Dogs Petted: A really good day, tbh. Would recommend willingly to friends and family.

4 Dogs Petted: Best day. Will be recommending to all the people.

4+ Dogs Petted: A unicorn of a day! Pet all the dogs! Read this book!

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

This book was so fun, and it was a really great introduction to feminism and activism. But it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more from it. I’ll be reviewing it in full in July, so I’ll leave it at that.

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

The Day of the Duchess by Sarah MacLean

This series was the most wonderful historical romance series I’ve ever read. The Soiled S’s are my faves. You can read my full review here.

Rating: 4 dogs petted.

Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali

I’ll be reviewing this one in full very soon as well, but know that I loved it more than a lot of books I’ve read lately. It’s wonderful and the MC isn’t always likable, and I feel that in YA books.

Rating: 4 dogs petted.

Mister O by Lauren Blakely

This might be my favorite in the entire Big Rock series. Full review to come!

Rating: 4 dogs petted.

The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz

DNF at 8%. I hated the writing in this book, and I didn’t want to read it in the first place. I’ll be reviewing this one soon too, and I’m excited to sit down and dive in. Stay tuned for some tea, y’all!

Rating: 0 dogs petted.

Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson

I didn’t know I needed this beautiful, hopeful book until it was right in front of me and I was reading it. It deserves every award it has received. I can’t wait to gush over it in my upcoming review!

Rating: 4+ dogs petted.

27 Hours by Tristina Wright

DNF at 25%. I’m trying to decide if I want to write a review for this book at all. There were several controversies surrounding it, including that the author has sexually harassed people, which I am not about supporting EVER. So I don’t know. But I just didn’t like it, separately from all the controversy. Too many POVs, to many characters I didn’t feel anything for, I guess.

Rating: 0 dogs petted.

Listen to Me by Kristen Proby

This series warms my heart, and I’ll be reviewing soon. My only complaint is that the dialogue throughout is a bit cringeworthy. But the story was cute and I’ve now read almost the whole series, so… ❤

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

I was so bored reading this book. Back before my new job through everything into a tailspin, I was doing the #aseriesamonth reading challenge, and this was my February pick. But it was such a struggle for me to finish this one and the sequel. I’ll be reviewing soon, but overall, I just think these weren’t for me.

Rating: 2 dogs petted.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

This is an excellent example of “the book is so much better than the movie.” My husband and I listened to this one on a road trip and we were both super into it. Michael Crichton is great at writing action. However, he’s not great and writing children… I’ll explain what I mean in my upcoming full review.

Rating: 4 dogs petted.

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco

Yawn. Although I’ll say that I liked this a lot better than the first one. In the future, I’m probably not going to force myself to read books I’m only feeling “meh” about, but this was for a reading challenge. So I’ll just say “meh” now, and then again in my full review.

Rating: 2 dogs petted.

Close to You by Kristen Proby

HEARTWARMING. I loved the peeps in this one as much as the first one. Ugh, these books are so adorable. ❤

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

OKAY. I wanted to like this book, and I did, but I definitely didn’t love it. There were parts in the middle that were super slow and I really didn’t like the love triangle thing going on. The adventure and time travel stuff was great, though! But… after reading what the sequel was about, I started procrastinating it. This series is the reason I failed at #aseriesamonth. Ah well, I don’t need that in my life (until next year, when I try it again, ha). Full review to come once I figure out what to do with the sequel.

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

Blush for Me by Kristen Proby

I didn’t love the characters in this one as much as the first two, but I still love the series. Kat is just a bit abrasive to me, and while I tend to like unlikable characters, she was a bit… much. But I still love the series.

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

THIS BOOK MELTED MY BRAIN. That’s about all I can coherently say right now, so I hope I have more words when it comes time to actually review it!

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

The Beauty of Us by Kristen Proby

Okay, again, this one wasn’t as good as the first two in the series. There was way too much girl-on-girl hate and drama in this one, but I did love nerdy Trevor, so that balanced out a bit. Hopefully the last book in the series lives up to the first two!

Rating: 3 dogs petted.

My reading picked up again in June, so I’ll have an actual recap for this month. I’m so happy to be back!

Another thing of note – I’ve always signed these reviews and recaps as “A.” I��ve decided to change that, to review under a different name from now on. You can call me Marie, and I’m here to stay.

Happy reading!

A Snarky Reading Recap – February through May 2018 Hey y’all! I’m back from my hiatus, and would you look at that! I changed the name of my blog and updated a bunch of things!

#Snarky Reading Recap

0 notes

atombooks · 6 years ago

Photo

Anonymous

The Big Bad Blog ~ Monday 26 September

There’s an empty chair in Form 4, Year 13 today.

The news has spread like wildfire: Eva Pieachowski is missing.

Our school is in shock.

Eva. The star girl at St Martin’s. She’s taking five A levels in English, Economics, History, Geography and Art, and she’s top in every subject, yet Eva’s no square – anyone who has ever partied with her knows that. With her long blonde hair and bewitching brown eyes, it’s no wonder that she was scouted by a modelling agency on a trip to Paris. She only did one contract – for Topshop – before dropping it in favour of her studies. She’s captain of the netball and tennis teams, tipped to be voted head girl in our elections next week, and at the end of Year 12 she was awarded the trophy for Star Pupil. The prom is still nine months away but it’s pretty obvious who will be chosen as queen.

She was last seen on Friday night at a party held at Rob Pennington’s house. Rob’s parties are notorious. So what happened? Did Eva run away? Is she lost? Is she playing a game? Or has something terrible happened to her? We all know that Eva’s recently started to hang out with the wrong crowd . . .

Hopefully all is well and Eva’s gone to stay with a friend and forgotten to tell her parents. Let’s hope that tomorrow her empty chair is filled.

COMMENTS (2) Lisa – ‘with her blonde hair and bewitching eyes’ – what is this, a Mills & Boon? *cringe*. Tristan – hey, I like this blog. I want to know what’s happened to Eva. Thnx for keeping us up to date.

Chapter 3

Luke

‘Tell me about you and Eva,’ DI Jackson says. ‘She’s your girlfriend?’ We’re sitting in a cramped interview room. A videocam squats in the corner, recording us. Jackson has the most intimidating stare. My hands itch for a pencil. If I was going to draw him, I’d capture his lizard eyes, which laser me for minutes at a time without blinking. Drawing always makes me feel better when I’m tense. ‘What’s happened to her?’ I ask. ‘Or maybe Eva was just a friend,’ he goes on, ignoring me. ‘A friend you have a crush on?’ ‘Yes, she is my girlfriend,’ I assert, my cheeks warming. Why do people always assume a girl like her wouldn’t go for a guy like me? ‘It’s serious between us, we’ve been dating nearly nine months. We’re in love.’ ‘Really?’ He looks surprised and I swear there’s a sarcastic flicker in his eyes, as if all teens ever do is play Spin the Bottle and snog and lack the depth to ever feel anything deeper than that. At least my anger smoothes away my stutter. ‘We have something really special.’ More surprise. His pen hovers above the page for about a minute, until I’m ready to grab it and fling it across the room. Then he writes something down. He’s left- handed and his handwriting is loopy and slanted; impossible to read. ‘Are you writing a greetings card?’ I ask. ‘I’m sorry?’ ‘You’re writing down that we have something really special?’ Once I say the words, I know they sound bad. I have such a big mouth. Mum’s always warning me: ‘You always speak and then think and it’s too late once you’ve said it!’ ‘Sorry,’ I say quickly. Detective Jackson folds his arms. ‘You think this is funny?’ ‘No! I don’t!’ My voice is too loud and I try to turn down the volume. My fists are clenched in my lap. ‘I just don’t get what’s going on. Where’s Eva?’ ‘You tell me,’ he says. ‘I haven’t seen her all weekend,’ I say. ‘I last saw her on Friday night at a party and then I was helping my mum with family stuff on Saturday and on Sunday I went over to see Rob.’ ‘Rob?’ His pen scratches another note. ‘The guy you were beating up in the toilets?’ ‘We were play- fighting,’ I correct him. ‘We were just messing around! We were pretending to be superheroes. I was Batman and Rob was the Green Lantern – well, he wanted to be Spider- Man, but you know.’ ‘I’m sorry?’ ‘You know, the Green Lantern. He’s the lame hero nobody likes.’ I figure that Jackson isn’t the type to ever go to the movies; it would be far too much fun for him. ‘I see.’ Jackson makes another enigmatic note and I swallow. I wish I could be like Rob. He’d know just what to say. If he was here, he’d already know what Eva’s been up to, and would be shaking the policeman’s hand and arranging a game of bloody golf or something. I’m no good at dealing with adults, especially ones in positions of authority. ‘And you’ve had no contact with Miss Pieachowski since Friday?’ ‘Well, I did call her but she didn’t pick up, so I figured she was mad at me.’ His eyes flicker. Oh. I shouldn’t have said that. ‘Can I have a drink of water?’ My tongue feels thick in my mouth. ‘In a minute. First, tell me why Eva would be angry with you.’ ‘I . . . She . . . it was just . . . ’ ‘Let’s begin with Friday. Did something happen that might make her angry with you?’ ‘Well, a bit. Kind of. I mean, we were getting on really well to begin with. We went to Rob’s house as he was giving a party. He wanted me there cos we’re good friends.’ ‘Except when you’re attempting to break his nose,’ DI Jackson says drily. Before I can defend myself, he goes on: ‘So, did Rob’s parents know about this soirée?’ ‘They were away for the weekend, so . . . ’ ‘What time did you get to the party?’ Time? I don’t own a watch. I use my mobile sometimes tocheck the time – and usually find that wherever I’m meant to be, I’m late.

‘I think I picked her up around eight- thirty.’ I don’t add that I had to collect Eva at the bottom of her road, so that her parents didn’t see me. That might sound odd. ‘So it would’ve been soon after that.’ ‘Did you drink at the party?’ ‘Ah, just a bit. I had a beer, maybe. I know you got me for reckless driving earlier this year, so of course, I was being careful. Eva drank more.’ ‘I haven’t forgotten the reckless driving. So, you and Eva fell out? She got upset?’ ‘I don’t know about that . . . anyhow, I left the party at, I don’t know, eleven – no, maybe ten thirty. I’m not sure about the time. I left before she did.’ ‘You didn’t drive her home?’ ‘No – she wanted to stay and I didn’t.’ ‘And you weren’t worried about her?’ I stare at the desk, chewing on my lip, when there’s a knock at the door. The female sergeant is standing there. She gives me the strangest of looks – a kind of moon- eyed double take. Then she beckons Jackson over and whispers in his ear. Jackson nods. He turns to the camera, announces the time and says that the interview has been suspended, before switching it off. Then he tells me to wait here and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him so hard that the vibrations shiver and echo through my plastic chair. ‘Fuck,’ I say out loud. I’m starting to worry that this is more serious than a silly Dare or one of Eva’s wind- ups. I wonder if I need a lawyer. Then I remind myself that me and the detective are basically on the same side, right? We both want to make sure that Eva is okay. I resist the urge to fold my arms over the desk, bury my head in their nest and nap. I’m scared I’m still being watched through that glass window, even secretly recorded; I try to force an expression of calm neutrality. It’s hard to think straight because I’m so bloody hungry. This morning I opened the bread bin to find a loaf so green with mould that I couldn’t face scraping it off. Matt and Freya, who are three and eight, started to cry for their breakfast. Mum was already at work, cleaning down at the church, so it was my turn to sort them out. I said they could have Coco Pops, but when I opened the packet, there was nothing but brown crumbs. They cried all the way to school, until I went into the newsagents and bought a Twix, making them swear to share. That was the last of my paper- round money, so I had nothing left to buy my own breakfast. Fighting Rob took the last of my energy. Breakfast seems like it happened days ago, not hours. I should be in English right now, discussing Robert Frost’s poem about the silent woods. But here I am, in a police station, wondering what my girlfriend is playing at. Maybe it’s Eva’s idea of revenge. Recently her games have started getting more and more out of control, even cruel. The door swings open. DI Jackson comes striding back in and sets my Nokia mobile down on the table. ‘On Friday night, you have ten missed calls from Eva, between eleven- thirty and one- thirty,’ he says sternly. ‘Ten? I didn’t think it was that many.’ ‘She also left some messages which you haven’t listened to. I think you should listen to them now.’ What? How the hell has he got access to my messages? I know all you have to do on a Nokia is press 121, but surely that’s not even legal without a warrant? I forget everything when I hear Eva’s voice, tinny on the loudspeaker, raw with rage: ‘I hope you’re happy now Luke. Thanks to you, I’m out here in the cold, again – not the first bloody time, is it? I need your help, please, please, help me, please . . . ’ I freeze in horror. And then DI Jackson plays the next. Eva’s voice is a shrill scream and it goes right through me: ‘Luke – you can’t do this to me! I have to get out of here! Please, please, stop hurting me, stop . . . Help, help me!’ Silence. ‘Oh my God! Did someone hurt her?’ I cry. ‘I don’t know, Luke, that’s why you’re here. Were you the one who hurt her? It’s not clear who she’s referring to. It sounds as though you’re the one she’s mad at.’ ‘God no, it must’ve been someone else.’ ‘Are you sure about that? Why didn’t you listen to these messages? Why didn’t you call her back?’ ‘Like I said, I did call her!’ I protest. ‘You haven’t checked properly. I did call her – it was Saturday, or maybe Sunday morning. I – I felt bad and I called at some point. I can’t remember when. But it just went to voicemail and I – I didn’t want to listen to her messages because I couldn’t face them. She wanted to break up, okay? I thought she was just leaving them to tell me to f—, I mean, to go away.’ I stare at the phone again, Eva’s voice echoing inside me: Please, please, please . . . ‘I’m really worried,’ I say. ‘She sounds terrible – is she okay?’ But DI Jackson just looks at me as though I have all the answers.

Chapter 4

Rob

I stand outside the police station, listening to Mozart’s

Symphony No. 40 on my iPhone, wondering why the hell

Luke is taking so long. In the last period before lunch, I was

disturbed to find Luke still hadn’t been released from questioning,

so I decided to come and find him. He’s been in there

a good three hours . . .

Finally, he emerges, hurrying down the steps. I’m unnerved

by the expression on his face: he looks as though he’s just sat

three exams in a row.

When he spots me, he jumps in surprise. He looks so

touched that I feel a flash of guilt: Luke thinks I’m here just

for moral support.

He gives me a huge hug. I can feel him trembling and I pull

away sharply. Just what the hell went on in there?

‘Luke,’ I say, ‘we need to talk.’

We spot a Starbucks down the road and head towards it.

Luke’s silent for about a minute and then he spills everything.

As I hear him describing Eva’s messages, my stomach clenches.

I don’t have a good feeling about this.

‘I’m pretty freaked that she might have been kidnapped or

something,’ Luke concludes. He’s blinking hard, and surreptitiously

rubs a tear from his eye.

We sit down with our lattes and Luke makes a flippant

remark that it’s unlike me to cut class. I can tell he’s trying to

lighten the atmosphere, but I have to tell him that this is no

laughing matter.

This is serious.

Luke’s right: I’m a grade- A student. I never skip school.

Next month I have an interview at Trinity College,

Cambridge to read History. After that, I’m going to work in

the banking industry for ten years. I’ll stand as a Tory MP at

the age of thirty for the Wimbledon constituency. By the age

of forty, I’ll be prime minister. I’ve got it all mapped out, and

if you think I’m crazy to decide all this at the age of seventeen,

then remember: Maggie Thatcher went to Oxford knowing

that she was destined to be PM, and look how far she went.

Luke’s biting his nails savagely and I gently swat his hand.

So then he takes a napkin, spreads it over his knee and starts

sketching caricatures of people in the café. For a moment I’m

distracted, marvelling at his talent. Most of the time, Luke

looks awkward in his body, but when he starts drawing, his

whole physique changes, becomes fluid and serene.

‘Luke,’ I say, swallowing. ‘We have to think ahead. If they’re

seriously worried about Eva, then the questions are going to

start. She’s been missing three days – if she just wanted to

scare her parents or do a Dare, she would have been gone a

day, max. So this is serious. They’re going to come after us

and they’re going to want to know what happened at my party.’

Luke’s pen pauses. He looks peevish, as though I’m being

selfish to worry about us at a time like this. I feel sorry for

him. He still hasn’t figured out how life works. Once when

I was a kid, my dad took me to the park and showed me the

ducks on the pond. ‘See how those ducks over there are

pushing the sick duck away? They don’t want to be held back

by him, so he has to leave the group. That’s nature. Survival

of the fittest.’

In some ways, Luke’s such an old soul, with his dad in

jail and the way he’s had to father his siblings, but in many

respects he’s terribly naïve. He doesn’t know how to handle

adults; that’s why he’s in so much trouble at school. And when

he’s in an intense situation, instead of playing it cool, he tends

to blow his top. He once joked to me that he’s never quite got

the hang of ‘how to bullshit like a bourgeois’. To be honest,

that’s what always drew me to Luke. St Martin’s is full of posh

toffs; I find his down- to- earth manner refreshing. But now it

could screw us both.

‘Look,’ I say, ‘what about what we all did at the party in

the – bathroom? And when we . . . you know . . . ’

‘You should be a spin doctor, not an MP.’

‘Luke, I’m serious! Don’t you get how bad this looks for us?

I still have that video on my phone.’

Luke pales. ‘Can’t you delete it?’

‘Maybe.’

‘Maybe?’ His pen digs into his napkin, ink spreading, ruining

his sketch.

‘I’ll delete it if you just agree to work with me on this. We

have to make up a story about my party, we have to rehearse,

and we have to get that story straight.’

Chapter 5 Eva’s Diary: 1 June 2016

It’s weird – I would never have thought of writing a

diary before. It always seemed a bit last- century to

me, the sort of thing you expect girls in a Jane Austen

novel to do because they’ve got all those hours to fill

scratching out their heartfelt emotions about the latest

guy with a big *house*. But a famous writer gave a talk

at our school where he said it was good to write every

day, even if you just keep a diary. He said that writing

is like a muscle and you have to keep exercising it. And

since I want to be a famous writer, I figured I should

follow his advice.

I’m not sure where to begin. I’ve started all jokey

because laughter is sometimes the only way I get by

these days. I’m flippant all the time. I’ve made such a

mess of everything, got myself in such a tangle. I know that sooner or later I’m going to fall off this tightrope

I’m walking. In the meantime, I just keep going to

school every day and getting my ‘A’s and keeping my

dad happy and smiling at everyone.

I guess all the trouble began at the start of 2016.

That’s when I first noticed Luke.

I was walking across the playground with my best

friend, Siobhan. We were on our way to Economics and

there was all this shouting and noise. Well, I love a

good drama, so I dragged Siobhan over to the crowd.

Everyone was chanting, ‘FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!’

That’s when I saw him. Luke Jones. I’d never really

noticed before how handsome he is. He’s very tall and

well built – not in a fake, steroid, too- many- trips- tothe-

gym kind of way – he’s naturally fit and strong.

He was messing around with another guy; they’d

both pierced holes in their Evian bottles and were

shooting thin sprays of water at each other, howling

with laughter. I stood there, hugging my books to my

chest, and he looked up with his amazing blue eyes and

grinned at me. It was such a wild, dangerous, sexy grin,

like a big cat daring me to play with him. He swept his

dripping hair from his forehead. Then he blew me a kiss.

‘In your dreams, Luke,’ jeered Mark, the guy he was

play- fighting.

Siobhan put her palm to my cheek and made a

sizzling noise.

‘Don’t tell me you like Luke,’ she said. ‘He’s a bad

boy, Eva. Don’t go there.’

I’d started to get bored of going on dates with guys.

It always followed the same pattern – he’d send me a

flirty text, we’d go to see a movie, he’d make me hold

his sweaty hand, he’d try to kiss me in the last half,

and it would carry on like this for a few more dates

before I got restless. None of them had any character.

They were all so nice. Maybe a bad boy was just

what I needed.

When I started telling my girlfriends that I had

a crush on Luke I got a secret thrill from seeing the

surprise on their faces. By choosing Luke, I was finally

saying to the world, I’m not the angel you think I

am, there’s more to me than that. Because that’s the

trouble with being me. Everyone sees me but nobody

*sees me*. They only see sparkle and glitter. They can

never perceive the shades in me, because I can only be

one colour, and it’s some kind of sickly, bright pink.

Several of my friends were convinced it was some

kind of philanthropic gesture. As though I felt sorry

for Luke, that he was my project and I’d be the one to

change him.

I think I did change Luke, but not in the way

everyone thought. I knew he was a bad boy but

I underestimated him just the same as everyone

underestimated me. When I got to know him, he wasn’t what I expected at all. And by then it was too late––

I want to write more but Dad’s calling me for

dinner. Oh God. I have to go down there and pretend

everything’s fine. For once my surface glitter is handy.

OK. Deep breath. Down I go . . .

#ItEndsWithYou #S.K. Wright

0 notes