Book Review: Lobsters by Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison

Title: Lobsters

Author: Tom Ellen and Lucy Ivison
Series:  Standalone
Pages:  306
Publisher: Chicken House Books
Date of Publication: 5th June, 2014
Source: Publisher for review*
Synopsis from Goodreads: Sam and Hannah only have the holidays to find 'The One'. Their lobster. But instead of being epic, their summer is looking awkward. They must navigate social misunderstandings, the plotting of well-meaning friends, and their own fears of being virgins for ever to find happiness. But fate is at work to bring them together. And in the end, it all boils down to love.

My Thoughts:
I was super excited for Lobsters and I had such high hopes, so let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It's awkward but light hearted and I have not laughed out loud (in public, too!) so much at a book for such a long time! I was sat in the common room at school, trying to suppress my giggles so that the other people in there would not think I was crazy. I'm not sure I convinced them, but to be honest I don't really care. Maybe it'll encourage them to pick up the book!

Anyway, as I said, Lobsters was great fun. It follows the stories of Hannah and Sam as they finish secondary school and exams and are preparing to go off to university. I really liked that the characters were all a little bit older than the regular sixteen year old YA protagonists (not that I have anything against those, it was just nice to read something a little different), and because I'm only a year younger than them and am also thinking about uni and exams it meant that I could connect with them on a certain level right from the word go (I even started reading just after my German exam, which was cool because Sam starts the book by moaning about how he'd screwed up his French exam and I could totally understand :P ). It's little things like this that made this book so great for me.

Tom and Lucy clearly have a good understanding of what it's like to be a teenager and I think that their characters were really authentic. I could imagine Hannah and Sam fitting in perfectly at my school and they just seemed so real and normal which was great. The dialogue didn't sound forced and the events weren't unbelievable. It made for such easy reading that I could have quite happily sat and read the whole novel in one sitting.

I really liked Hannah and Sam's relationship in the novel. Ribena Girl and Toilet Boy were definitely made for each other! ;) I liked the awkwardness and the uncertainty - not that I really know anything at all about relationships but I can picture myself being very awkward in some of the situations that they found themselves in and so it was a comfort that they felt that too (even if they aren't real...). Sometimes I find in books that if the characters have some amazing whirlwind romance where everything goes right that even though it's fun to read about, it leaves no hope for us normal people... But after reading this it would seem that there is a lobster out there for everyone, no matter any awkwardness or embarrassment! ;) (Lobsters mate for life, so 'the one' is your lobster, according to Hannah and her friends).

Lobsters is a laugh-out-loud funny, frank, and realistic coming of age story. It's the perfect summer read (despite the rainy festival!) and I definitely recommend that you read it if you're a fan of any kind of young adult novel, because it's such a perfect snapshot of teenage life. It's definitely not one to be missed!


To celebrate the release of Lobsters on 5th June, I did an interview with Tom and Lucy, where they wrote about how they would act to five awkward social situations. It's great fun and if you

*Huge thanks to Chicken House Books for sending me this in exchange for an honest review! In no way has this affected my opinion of the novel.