Happy Halloween

I hope everyone is having a really wonderful and safe Halloween! We had a little Halloween party yesterday and we're hoping to take the boys out trick-or-treating for the first time ever tonight! Wish us luck :)


And now here are the books that I've read during the month of October:

149. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart
150. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by JK Rowling (re-read)
151. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
152. Girl Parts by John M. Cusick
153. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (re-read)
154. From Somalia, With Love by Na'ima B. Robert
155. Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
156. White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
157. The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan
158. The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruis Zafon
159. Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
160. Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Very mixed books, as always. I am surprised that there are two re-reads in there, but I did have to pull out the big guns to get read of my reading slump. Lots of darker themed books for this month. I assure you that was unintentional, I rarely theme-read for holidays.

The Prince of Mist, The Long Weekend, White Crow, and The Graveyard Book had a creepiness to them. Living Dead Girl and Some Girls Are were very sad. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is one of the best YA books I've read in a really, really long time. I had a lot of fun with Girl Parts, Harry Potter is always a good choice to fall back on and From Somalia, With Love was a very sweet and gentle story. Grace took me by surprise, as I was quite confused at first, wasn't sure if I was going to like it and then everything got turned around and I really, really liked it. Now I'm reading Delirium by Lauren Oliver and phew, is it good.

My favourite of the month: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.

Plans for November:

1) I'd like to make a bigger dent in my TBR pile by reading more books less than 250 pages.

2) I'd like to catch up on some of my review pile: Obviously finish Delirium by Lauren Oliver, You Against Me by Jenny Downham, The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, the new Bartimaeus book, Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan, By Midnight by Mia James.

3) AND I have two more books I need to read for Anti-Bullying Week (15th - 19th November) which might be a bit of a squeeze for me. We shall see.

What're your plans for Halloween? How did reading in October go for you? What are your reading plans for November?

Build-A-Bear Workshop

Do you know what I love about Build-A-Bear Workshop? I love the experience that they give to young children. Everytime my boys go into their shop to choose a bear they leave with the biggest smiles on their faces. Everything about it, from choosing which bear, the sounds they can add. Stepping on the pedal that adds fluff to the bear. Rubbing the bear's heart on their noses and cheeks and making a wish. Choosing the outfits to wear. Everything about the process makes that bear more special and perfect for my children. They absolutely adore making those decisions. Which bear to choose? Which colour top to wear? Which pair of shoes? What to call the bear? My kids live for that. My Littlest in particular loves the part after the bears are stuffed, where he can step on another pedal and give his new bear a 'bath.'

So, this past week, I had the greatest pleasure to go to a wonderful event with Build-A-Bear Workshop. N and the boys and I went, not really sure what to expect and had one of the best days ever. The people at Build-a-Bear Workshop, the people at Publicasity, Estelle in particular were absolutely wonderful to me, to N, to my little boys. They gave us free bears and goodies. They provided us with a wonderful teddy bear tea party. They played games with the children. We saw some fun looking Christmas bears.

The biggest hit of the day with my two boys? Bearemy. Every chance they got, my two were in there for hugs with Bearemy. They could have stayed and played hide-and-seek for hours with him. On the way home, Eldest talked about Bearemy: 'He was a real bear who wore human clothes! And he was THIS big and he played with me and he was my friend.' Littlest said his favourite part of the day was 'Bear-me' with added sad face because he missed him.

Everytime I go into a Build-A-Bear Workshop, I always feel like the staff go out of their way to make my kids feel special. There's always fun new bears and outfits and I'm sure once my kids realise they can do fun things online, they'll never be off the computer. N said he wanted to go back this week and make HIMSELF a Star Wars bear. I feel like this company is definitely doing something right. I feel like it's going to be a very BABW Christmas in our house :) Thank you so much to Estelle for going out of her way to put the smile on my boys' faces.

So that's what I did on my half-term break. What did you get up to?

Making a dent in the TBR pile

Over the last few weeks, I've been making a real attempt at making a dent into my TBR pile. (This MUST be a universal problem amongst book blogger, surely?!) And sometimes, I really just don't know what I feel like reading so I impose some sort of silly 'rule' to stick to for as long as it works (before I've used length of time I've had the book, read with a theme in mind). And for the last week and a bit the thing that's been working a treat is reading books under 250 pages. I went through my three shelves of YA books (and erm, a huge towering pile) and picked out any book under 250 pages and stuck a handful of them on my bedside table. And I've been having great success finishing them and making a little room on my bookshelves. Here are the books I've finished lately!

Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

From Somalia, With Love by Na'ima B. Robert

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

The Prince of Mist by Carlos Ruis Zafon

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers


It's a pretty strange group of books, no particular theme besides them being on the shortish side. I feel pretty satisfied all around, having cleared some of my pile, reading more books than I probably would be and reading books that might possibly get lost amongst the tide of new books arriving every week into my house. I'm loving this. I'm currently reading Dark Matter by Michelle Paver and hope to finish it soon. Here is a rather large list of possible other books that I will attempt to get through before this phase passes:

Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak

Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis

Grace by Elizabeth Scott

Zel by Donna Jo Napoli

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

From Where I Stand by Tabitha Suzuma

The Lone-Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey

Lottie Biggs is Not Mad by Hayley Long

Lottie Biggs is Not Desperate by Hayley Long

Fade by Lisa McMann

Child X by Lee Weatherly

Kissing Kate by Lauren Myracle

The Edge by Alan Gibbons

Mondays Are Red by Nicola Morgan

Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Thursday's Child by Sonya Hartnett

The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick

So there we have it. I have a separate pile (because I'm officially a sad, anal person) that I have unofficially called my 250-300 page pile of books. That I *may* attempt if I've done a well enough job with these. I'm figuring this phase will peter out pretty soon?

What do you do to make a dent in your TBR pile? Care to divulge just how large a pile it is? Have you read any of these books? Where should I start?

REVIEW: Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared.

Once upon a time, my name was not Alice.

Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was.

When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over.

Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her.

This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Review: Living Dead Girl is such a harrowing read. I finished it and I just couldn't do anything for awhile. I couldn't even think about reading another book for ages because my mind just kept returning to Alice and her story. The product description is entirely accurate this time, I don't think a story like this has been told before and I know that I'll be thinking about it for a long, long time. It isn't light reading at all and certainly not for the faint-hearted. Living Dead Girl is gritty and horrific. It doesn't shy away from telling all the painful details of Alice's life as the captive of a paedophile. Be warned.

Alice is 15 and isn't her real name, but the name given to her by Ray. She's been with Ray for five years now, since he kidnapped Alice from a school trip when she was 10. She used to be a normal little girl, who had friends and a family and didn't worry about food or pain. But Ray changed all that. She wakes up having been raped by Ray and her new life begins. One in which Ray threatens Alice's family in order to make Alice stay. He forces himself on her endlessly and starves her to keep her looking little, like a child. Alice dreams of death in order to be free.

In the five years that Alice has had endure such terrible, painful things at the hands of Ray, a heavy toll has been taken on Alice. She's been forced into sexual slavery and starvation that's lasted years, and she's at the point where she thinks nothing of harming other weaker children in order to feed herself when Ray is away. When Ray suggests that Alice find her own replacement, Alice can think only of the freedom that it will bring her. She starts scoping out the local playground for young girls, girls she thinks that Ray will like.

Honestly, Living Dead Girl was such a heart-breaking book to read. It's absolutely painful to read of a girl so broken and abused with only death to look forward to. You can see that there's a cruelty that has become a part of Alice after the years of abuse that she is suffered. The torment and her experience with Ray is too great to overcome without huge lasting damage. I wept for Alice reading this book. I wept for anybody that has ever had or will ever experience such atrocities.

I'm left almost speechless at this book. It made me utterly sad verging on hopeless and also incredibly angry. This one packs a punch and I am in awe of Elizabeth Scott for her versatility in writing. This is a far cry from her romantic fiction.

REVIEW: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer

Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by the riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character introduced in Eclipse, and the darker side of the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistible combination of danger, mystery and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion. 'I'm as surprised as anyone about this novella,' said Stephenie Meyer. 'When I began working on it in 2005, it was simply an exercise to help me examine the other side of Eclipse, which I was editing at the time. I thought it might end up as a short story that I could include on my website. Then, when work started on The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide, I thought the Guide would be a good fit for my Bree story. However, the story grew longer than I anticipated, until it was too long to fit into the Guide.'

Before this book came out I was really excited to read it. And then I think I read a spate of mediocre reviews of it. That's when I decided to wait until I saw this one in the library as opposed to running out and buying it. It was the right choice for me.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer is a novella chronicling the newborn vampire life of Bree Tanner, a minor character seen in Eclipse. Bree was one of the vampires created by Victoria and controlled by her minion Riley, who was in the clearing in this battle between Victoria's newborns and the Cullen clan and the vampires. Bree surrenders to Carlisle, but when the Volturi arrive, she is executed. I would imagine that most people who have picked this book up to read are already fans of the Twilight saga and know these details having, I'd assumed, already read Eclipse.

During The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, we see through Bree's eyes throughout this short book, and it's very different from Bella's perspective. We witness first-hand the need and thirst of the newly-formed vampires, the ways in which Riley is able to use his knowledge of vampires in a way in which it keeps 20 powerful and impulsive vampires together and willing to do his (and by extension, Victoria's) bidding. The vampires in Riley's group are very different to the Cullens. There is no qualms about killing people, no regard for human life.

When we meet Bree, she is in the middle of a hunting expedition in Seattle. You can tell Bree is more intelligent than some of the other newborns by the way in which she tries to stay out of the way and thinks the vampires shouldn't be drawing too much attention to themselves while out hunting. Diego, one of the oldest vampires in the group thinks so too. Bree and Diego start spending some time together and together, they try to work out the point of Riley's little group, what purpose they serve. There is the beginning of a romantic relationship here, but all too soon we are geared up for the final battle between vampires.

It was fun for a little while to rejoin the Twilight saga. But it never got more than just OK for me. I felt like Stephenie Meyer was telling me things too much and not really showing them to me. I didn't have any strong emotions for Bree or Diego, possibly because I knew the fate of Bree beforehand. Bree and Diego's mystery-solving escapades didn't really interest me as the reader (as long as they've already read Eclipse) is already privy to most of Riley and Victoria's nefarious plans. The highlight of the novella, for me, was the introduction of a vampire with special skills like the Cullens posess, Fred, who is able to repel vampires away from him.

This one's just for previous fans of Stephenie Meyer and the Twilight saga.

REVIEW: The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan

Sam knows that he and his friend Lloyd made a colossal mistake when they accepted the ride home. They have ended up in a dark mansion in the middle of nowhere with man who means to harm them. But Sam doesn't know how to get them out. They were trapped, then separated. Now they are alone. Will either of them get out alive? This gripping and hypnotic thriller will have you reading late into the night...

The Long Weekend by Savita Kalhan got right under my skin. My heart was pounding and I was starting to feel really, really anxious. It got to the point where I was so scared, I had to stop reading it and pick the book up again in the daytime - you know, when it's safe. I was SO worried about these boys. What would happen?! A big thanks goes to Michelle Harrison, who kindly sent me a copy of this book.

Sam has just moved to town and he's feeling pretty lucky to have made a friend in Lloyd. He doesn't feel all new-boyish with Lloyd to hang around with. They play football together and have a laugh. And then they make the stupidest decision ever, which didn't even feel like a decision. Sam and Lloyd, both 11, have just gotten into car with a stranger. And they've been taken to a huge house in the middle of nowhere. They've been separated and are now at the mercy of a very sinister man. Will they make it to safety?

See, I'm getting chills just writing this review and remembering how much these two boys go through. I love how authentic it feels. I completely and utterly believed the way in which these boys end up in the car. First Sam and then Lloyd realise the mistake they've made and they go through stages of denial and trying to convince themselves it'll all be OK and things are fine and 'maybe it's all just a surprise, this weekend away to meet a famous band.' And then things start to go from bad to worse. And I'll tell you, I was on the edge of my seat all the way through. The pacing of the novel was spot-on, everything from the thoughts, decisions and actions that these two go through and do feels real.

And Kalhan is not pandering to a younger audience here. Bad things happen. Terrible things, and it's gritty and painful to read at times. At times, both boys just broke down and cried at the hopelessness of their situation. But I loved the resourcefulness of Sam and how he had the people he loved the most in his head helping him to think clearly.

Fantastic book. I'm so glad that I had the chance to read it. If you're looking for a book to scare the pants off you, look no further.

IMM 14

This week was very lucky for me. I didn't think I'd get anything at all, until Thursday one book arrived and thought 'ooh' and then Friday rolled around and my postman delivered a whole heap of books. You should have seen me doing my happy dance this morning :)

As always, In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren, but don't just head to her site for IMM, she has great stuff the entire week. Check her out.

I've decided that I will follow suit with other book bloggers who have recently just been showing the books they've recieved without mentioning which are sent via publishers etc. In My Mailbox is something that I've never done in order to show-off in any way and I hope nobody has ever felt that that's the point of these type of posts.

From now on, I will say that the books recieved into my house have been purchased brand new, through charity shops, swapped using a book-swapping website (ReadItSwapIt), sent via the publishers or won in contests/giveaways or borrowed from friends. All links go to GoodReads -- but this link is to MY account at GoodReads, let's be friends?

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman
One Of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones
The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson
Hate List by Jennifer Brown
Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

I will be saving all of these books for an event that I'm doing next year with a group of other bloggers. The topic will be 'Death and Bereavement in Teen Lit' and I'm absolutely thrilled to start reading for it. I now have a huge stack of books to wade through. :) The Sonya Sones book and Hate List have been on my wish list since FOREVER. And Maureen Johnson's book are consistently good. Looking forward to all of these books.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
Entice by Carrie Jones
Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan
Hand Me Down World by Lloyd Jones
Grace by Elizabeth Scott

How much fun are these books? They are all fairly recent and each one makes me squee in their own ways. The Lloyd Jones book is signed. The Body Finder and Immortal Beloved are new books out on the market that look quite exciting. Entice is the third in a series that I really must start soon. And OH MY GOD. I adore Elizabeth Scott.

Have you read any of these books? Where should I start? Which books arrived into your house this week?

Spooky books to read for Halloween

I love Halloween. (At least here in the Northern hemisphere) The days are getting shorter and things get darker earlier, colder. With the leaves turning and the wind howling, it's the perfect time to curl up with a blanket and read a really scary book. Here are some spooky suggestions for what to read around Halloween. For me, books about Halloween says ghosts. and monsters. and zombies. There is obviously a big resurgence of paranormal books on the market at the moment involving vampires and werewolves etc, but I think you guys would probably know more/better about that than me!

First up, we have ghost-y books.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - Did I tell you that I'm now running an online book club? This is my first book group selection for October. It's about a boy who's entire family is murdered by a very sinister looking man in black, so the boy seeks refuge in a graveyard and is raised by ghosts. It's the perfect book to read for Halloween AND it's written by Neil Gaiman. Please don't overlook it - join us in the discussion, if you'd like.

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James - Less than 100 pages, this is one that will get to you with it's spookiness. It doesn't use big, obvious ways in which to scare you, but lets you infer things yourself, lets your imagination run away with itself. Set in an old estate house, with two small children and only a young governess to look after them, strange things are going on...

If you're interested in subtle ghost stories told through literary fiction, then possibly try Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger about two American twins whose inheritance is a flat overlooking Highgate Cemetery in London or The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters which explores Britain after World War II.

Also, have you ever looked into your own city/state/region for ghost stories? I think it's makes it extra-special-ghoulish when the ghost stories are that local. It's worth checking out! I wrote a post a few years ago about the ghostly-goings-on in my neighbourhood :)

And if you are looking for something a bit .. more, here are some vampire/monster offerings:

Dracula by Bram Stoker - Vampires are the new black it seems, but here's the original vampire story. I found it a bit dull, but lots of people rave about it. It's a far, far cry from the transformation of vampires in modern literature. Thus, the appeal, I'd suppose.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - This is an update to Dracula which has seen some very mixed reviews. I've heard it can drag in some parts, but I've also heard that it's filled with lots of historical detail and atmosphere. At over 700 pages though, it isn't for the faint of heart, but I hear it's a vampire story very intelligently written without romanticising vampirism.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson - I've only seen the movie starring Will Smith, but I hear the book is a lot better in many ways. More psychological and chilling. What would it be like to be the last man alive, surrounded by vampires? I hear the vampire aspect of it eventually become more of a side-story as the main characters works through his own issues. Still sounds like it could give sufficient chills when reading this Halloween.. Come out Neville!


Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - The ultimate horror book. I had this as an assigned book in one of my university courses and I still haven't read it :( Everyone knows the story, right? Mad scientist creates monster then is rejected by its creator and monster goes on a rampage. The film adaptation seem to be a very different creation to the book, so be sure to check it out.

Also, be sure to look out for The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde for a better glimpse at psychological thrillers investigating the monster within.

And for zombie enthusiasts:

The Enemy/The Dead by Charlie Higson - I absolutely adore this new series by the author of the Young Bond books (amongst others!). The characters, all children aged 14 and under must fight to survive with all the adults gone zombie. They've hidden out in the local Waitrose but decide to go on the move to find more food and allies. Very interestingly written, a new series not to miss!

World War Z by Max Brooks - I haven't actually read this one, but zombies and Max Brooks seems to go hand-in-hand. It seems to be the ultimate book about the zombie apocalypse. Brooks writes about a not-too-distant future in which we are invaded by zombies. He looks at the ways in which different countries and corporations have responded and dealt with this as well as provided witness testimonies.

And for more zombie goodness, there's always The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan and the sequel, Dead-Tossed Waves.

Deliciously creepy:

Edgar Allan Poe - Nothing says Halloween better than Edgar Allan Poe. A fan amongst a lot of nerdfighters that I've spoken to, his stuff is a mixture of horror, mystery and suspense. While I've been writing this blog post I have re-read the poem The Raven and have found it still as creepy fantastic as I remembered. Any favourite Poe poetry/short stories?

We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson - I think this has to be one of the spookiest covers ever. Gives me goosebumps just looking at it. It's a slim story of two sisters whose family have all died of arsenic poisoning. They live in a crumbling old castle and from the very first page there is a general feeling of uneasiness about the story...

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - I just read a review of this book that called it a mixture of Gothic horror and psychological realism. Ooh. That sounds good to me! There's the general feeling that quite a lot is going on in The Woman in White: Collins writes of mental patients escaped from the asylum, differences in class, marriage and other long-standing institutions and a mystery with very sinister characters. I shall definitely be looking out for this one.


For more recent YA choices, I'd suggest either White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick (which I've just finished reading *shudder*) or Dark Matter by Michelle Paver, both of which are recently published.

For nostalgia purposes: Goosebumps or Fear Street by RL Stine. Am I showing my age here? I absolutely adore RL Stine and when I was much younger, I always got very excited every time I saw a new book by him in the library.

What's your favourite book to read at Halloween? What's the scariest book you've ever read?

REVIEW: Take Me There by Susane Colasanti

Rhiannon is devastated after the breakup with her boyfriend and wants him back. Nicole’s ex is still pining for her, but she can’t help having a new crush. And then there is James, hopelessly in love with Rhiannon, who can’t see that their friendship can be so much more. Just when things couldn’t get more complicated, the school’s resident mean girl decides she is intent on ruining everyone’s life. James, Nicole, and Rhiannon are not going to let this slide, but will their desire to take down the mean girl bring these three friends exactly what they want?

I seem to be reading quite a bit of Susane Colasanti this year. Take Me There is my third book of hers this year and I am a fan.

Take Me There is told by three different perspectives. Rhiannon, who's a tad obsessed with her ex-boyfriend. He dumps her with no reason, and she's dead keen to win him back. Even if it means doing something entirely out of character to show him just how much he means to her. Then there's Nicole, her best friend who has her own boy problems. She's just broken up with her boyfriend and already has her eye on someone else. No matter that he's entirely unsuitable. And then there's James, who isn't quite ready to admit to himself or anyone else (most especially his girlfriend) his true feelings for Rhiannon.

I'm not always a big fan of multiple perspectives, but this seemed to work out quite well. There is some overlap between the the three central characters' stories, but whenever this happens, there is always more information included so that the scenes feel new. There is a bit of a cliched character, in the form of the school mean girl who ties the three stories together. It's always a bit of a mystery to me how someone as mean as this girl is able to get away with things and also steal someone's boyfriend, but it doesn't really matter. While this seems like it's just a story of teenagers and their somewhat mixed up love lives, it also touches on a really interesting and serious concept of power.

Nicole's character in particular deals with this the most, where her dealings with men have led down a terrible path. Where the people in her life have used their position of authority in a bad way. I don't want to spoil any of the plot though, so I won't say more. It's also illustrated through a secondary character who suffers through a physically abusive relationship with her boyfriend.

Aside from some of these sadder aspects of the novel, I found Take Me There to be another sweet and gentle story. One that has a very satisfying come-uppance to the school bully.

Guest Post: Horror films for Halloween by Rachel Vincent

I'm very pleased to have Rachel Vincent guest posting on my blog today! I'm not the biggest fan of scary movies normally, but around Halloween I do try to make an exception!

Rachel Vincent is the author of Alpha part of her Shifter’s series about a pride of werecats which is out now from MIRA books £6.99.

You can find out more about Rachel and her books here:

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Nocturne Bites | Mira UK

Over to Rachel...

I was asked to write something spooky, to go along with a Halloween theme, but…I don’t really write spooky. Gory? Yes. Violent? Yes. But it’s always a kind of in-your-face violence and gore, not really intended to scare so much as to incite rage and empathy on behalf of those forced to defend themselves.

So instead of writing something creepy, I’m going to write about something creepy. But don’t worry—I brought pictures!

I’m a pretty big fan of horror movies, but I’m also a pretty tough customer to please. I like gore and…well…terror, but the movie has to have some serious plot skills to make me happy. Which means, for the most part, slashers need not apply. No Jason, Freddie, or Michael for me. I like stuff like this:



Why yes, that IS Pennywise, from Stephen King’s IT. My favorite old-school horror movie baddie. Because he’s not just physical I’m-gonna-kill-you scary. He’s psychologically terrifying. He becomes whatever you’re most afraid of. Personalized evil. Also, clowns. Seriously.
We all float down here.



The Unborn. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I went in not expecting much, because I’d never heard of it before it premiered on one of the movie channels, but it thoroughly creeped me out, the acting was pretty good, and there were lots of interesting references to the main characters mysterious family history. And I’m a sucker for some family history. ;) Also, look at this guy. He went down the stairs like that. Ouch.

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Jennifer’s Body. Say what you will, but I LOVED it. Clever, campy teen scream (though most of the actors aren’t actually teens. This is by far my favorite incarnation of the succubus myth. She literally devours her victims. Look at those chompers.

Also, Amanda Seyfried is awesome as “the kicker.” She should take on more action roles.



The Descent. Vaguely humanoid freakish cannibals. Gets me every time. Cannibalism is one of those concepts that truly terrifies me. Every. Single. Time. And the fact that this movie takes place almost entirely underground, in a maze of dark, bone-carpeted caverns? Awesome. Take this photo, for example. She has no idea he’s RIGHT BEHIND HER! Cause he has mad stealth skills, for a mutated freak. For real.



Pandorum. Similar to The Descent, in theory, but…so different. And so awesome. I loved Pandorum to a seriously unhealthy degree. So smart, and unbelievably tense and terrifying. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any of the shots I wanted to show, so I’m stuck with this mutant child. Mutant children are always creepy. Add to that another movie set carpeted with bones and rotting human corpses (plus the twisty, turny plot), and you have one of my favorite horror movies of all time. All Time, I tell you.



And last of all, Pan’s Labrinth.

Guillermo del Toro may be my favorite writer/director/producer/visionary of all times, and Pan’s Labrinth is his most awesome work ever, in my opinion. Part war story, part faerie tale, part horror (and foreign film), the movie is an experience.

The shot above is from the single most suspenseful, creepy scene I’ve ever seen in my life. The kind that makes you want to break through the screen just so you can yell at the little girl to LOOK BEHIND YOU! Cause that think with eyes in its hands and rows of sharp teeth? It’s GOING TO EAT YOU!

If you haven’t seen Pan’s Labrinth, I can’t think of a better time to devote to this film than Halloween, after the trick-or-treaters have gone to bed. Don’t bother with the popcorn. Just turn off the lights and enjoy. ;)

(Phew that WAS creepy. Thanks Rachel!)

So tell me. What is YOUR favourite horror film to watch around Halloween? Have you seen any of these films?

REVIEW: Angel by LA Weatherly

In a world where angels are beyond redemption, Alex thinks he's found one that might deserve mercy. Alex is a ruthless assassin - of angels. Forget everything you've heard about them before. Angels are not benign celestial creatures, but fierce stalkers whose irresistible force allows them to feed off humans, draining them of their vitality until there is barely anything left. As far as Alex is concerned, the only good angel is a dead angel...until he meets Willow. She may look like a normal teenager but Willow is no ordinary girl. Half-angel, half-human, Willow may hold the key to defeating the evil angels. But as the hunter and the hunted embark on an epic and dangerous journey and Willow learns the dark and terrifying secrets of her past, Alex finds himself drawn to Willow...with devastating consequences. Eoin Colfer reinvented the fairy, Stephenie Meyer reinvented the vampire, L.A. Weatherly reinvents the angel! This is a heart-pounding, knuckle-whitening, paranormal romance action-adventure for fans of the 'Twilight' series. This is the first in a devastating new trilogy.

This book is amazing. I feel incredibly lucky to have recieved an advanced reader's copy of Angel and I read it almost as soon as I recieved it. But I've been finding it hard to put into words how much I loved this one. There's so many paranormal YAs out there, but Angel felt like something new.

Angel by LA Weatherly begins with Willow, who doesn't really fit in. She much prefers the company of car engines to that of other people. Especially as she is known for her psychic ability. When a popular girl at school asks Willow for a reading, it changes Willow's entire life. Willow's eyes are opened to the word of angels. But not angels like we've ever known before. Angels in Willow's world are horrible things that suck the souls out of their victims. I've never felt so creeped out by angels as I do now!

Alex is a pretty kick-ass angel assassin. He knows what they are and what they're capable of and he's determined to kill every last one of them. Until he meets Willow, half-angel. Alex and Willow are forced to team up and together they go on this crazy-exciting adventure that involves fast cars and an epic road trip (you know how much I love roads trips in books!) and some pretty kick-ass fight scenes. I did so love Alex, with his whole sad backstory and reading about his entirely different upbringing as an angel-killer. Honestly, Angel had me absolutely enthralled with the characters, the storyline, the romance and all the action, I could hardly tear myself away from it. I did not expect to love this book quite as much as I did.

While I did enjoy this steady build-up of a romantic relationship between Alex and Willow, my only minor gripe about Angel is how once Willow and Alex were able to accept their feelings for each other, it turned into a gush-fest. I don't much care for over-the-top undying feelings in YA novels and I thought the whole lovenest towards the end was a bit much. That said, I am still incredibly excited about this book and cannot wait for the rest in the series!

REVIEW: The Boy Book by E. Lockhart

Here is how things stand at the beginning of newly-licensed driver Ruby Oliver's junior year at Tate Prep:

• Kim: Not speaking. But far away in Tokyo.
• Cricket: Not speaking.
• Nora: Speaking--sort of. Chatted a couple times this summer when they bumped into each other outside of school--once shopping in the U District, and once in the Elliot Bay Bookstore. But she hadn't called Ruby, or anything.
• Noel: Didn't care what anyone thinks.
• Meghan: Didn't have any other friends.
• Dr. Z: Speaking.
• And Jackson. The big one. Not speaking.

But, by Winter Break, a new job, an unlikely but satisfying friend combo, additional entries to The Boy Book and many difficult decisions help Ruby to see that there is, indeed, life outside the Tate Universe.

How much do I adore Ruby Oliver?! After reading The Boyfriend List earlier in the year (and loving it!), and hearing about upcoming fourth book in the Ruby Oliver series, I was absolutely desperate to read The Boy Book sooner rather than later. And again, I loved it.

In this, Ruby is still a sort of pariah at Tate Academy. All of her old friends still aren't speaking to her after the events from The Boyfriend List. As she begins her junior year, she's still friends with Meghan, she's still seeing Dr. Z (though she hadn't had any panic attacks in ages). Missing her friends, Roo pulls out the old Boy Book, the one that she used to write in with Kim and Cricket and Nora and she tries to move on with her life. She makes friends with Nora again and gets a job at the zoo. She's really enjoying getting to know Noel more and hanging out. There may even be some kissing going with Angelo of the big lips :) But most confusing of all, are the notes that start appearing from Jackson now that Kim is away in Japan. Now what does Jackson mean by doing that?

Ruby goes through some difficult stuff in The Boy Book. Patching up old friendships, deciding what she wants out of her relationships with Angelo and Noel and Jackson. Moving on from the decisions that she's made in the past and moving forward. Without therapy?

As always, Roo is such a fantastic character. She's so quirky and fun and I can't help but have a bit of a crush on her. The book is filled with excerpts from The Boy Book about her and her friends amusing experience with boys, and the smile-inducing footnotes regarding popular culture. Everything feels realistic and as Roo struggles with everything going on in her life, the readers struggles right along with her. Having an interest in psychology, I absolutely adored Roo's therapy sessions with Dr. Z and the way in which Roo is trying to become more self-aware and really think about the decisions and actions that she makes.

This is a very fun sequel in a series that's not to miss!

IMM 13

Another week, another IMM! (When did I start doing these things every week as opposed to every other week?!) IMM is hosted by the lovely Kristi from The Story Siren - check her out. This week's haul of books have come from the publishers. And I really couldn't be more excited about them!



By Midnight by Mia James
Dark Matter by Michelle Paver
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
The Dark Horse by Marcus Sedgwick
Prince Of Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

I've been waiting to read By Midnight, Dark Matter and Prince of Mist since forever! I'm very pleased to have these books (you should have seen me do my happy dance when they arrived!). I've yet to read anything by Marcus Sedgwick, but I always hear such good things about him. And I do adore Sookie. I've already read Dead Until Dark, would anyone be interested in a giveaway? Thank you to Tina, the lovely lady who sent these awesome books to me!

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett
Bartimaeus: The Ring of Solomon by Jonathan Stroud
You Against Me by Jenny Downham

And look at these books! Terry Pratchett! And Jonathan Stroud! And Jenny Downham! Is it possible to use any more exclamation marks?! Huge thanks goes to Rosi from Random House :)

And, I went to the library yesterday, and picked up two more books - Kissing the Rain by Kevin Brooks and The Legacy by Gemma Malley, which I was hoping was the second book the trilogy and it turned out to be the third :( Must look out for The Resistance now.

Which books did you get into your house this week? Have you read any of these books? Where should I start?

Books and bullying

Bullying is a topic that is close to my heart. It is something that I feel a great number of people have either experienced, witnessed or taken part in. All three perhaps. It still feels as though there's a stigma surrounding being bullied and that victims of bullying are loathe to stand up and speak out, and ask for help. Instead they suffer, mostly in silence and carry with them a sense of utter helplessness.

And this prevalence of bullying is being seen more and more within literature. We all like a happy ending, and when the victim of a bully stands up to his or her perpetrator in books and films everyone gives a great 'hurrah' as it shows this wonderful strength of character. Unfortunately, a lot of bullying is done to such an extent that it causes enough damage and unhappiness that one big act of defiance might not be enough. What I think is important is that we are all aware that bullying exists, that we are understanding of the many types of bullying (whether it stem from peers, parents etc) and that we are trying to prevent such occurrences from happening.

Books about bullying should help promote respect, tolerance and understanding. I think books, when written with insight and compassion, can help a person who has experienced any form of bullying. Books such as the ones I've listed below could help victims of bullying feel less alone when reading the experiences of other, even fictional experiences. Would you agree?

Kissing the Rain by Kevin Brooks - Kevin Brooks writes really gritty, realistic fiction and Kissing the Rain sounds like a difficult book to read. Overweight Moo Nelson isn't treated very well at school. He's insulted, beaten and laughed at due to the size of him. In order to cope with this unhappy existence, he tries to take refuge outside of the school, under a bridge. When he witnesses a terrible car crash/murder he is under great pressure to tell the truth and to stand up to his bullies.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - Melinda is an outcast. She went to a party the summer before her freshman year and called the police which led to several popular students being arrested. Now no one will speak to her, she is avoided and shunned. Her friends turn from her and Melinda is left absolutely alone, struck mute by the horrific ordeal she suffered and continues to suffer through the treatment of the other students. With the help of a sympathetic teacher and through art, is Melinda able to come to terms with what has happened and have the strength to finally speak out.

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli - Stargirl is one of those books that a lot of people have heard about and read, and this makes me happy. Stargirl is very different in many ways and at first this eccentricity led her to popularity and happiness. But when Stargirl refuses to comform with the other girls in her class, her popularity plummets and she becomes an outcast. Instead of viewing these experiences from Stargirl's perspective, we see her through the eyes of Leo, a boy in her class who is finding it difficult to balance his feelings for Stargirl and his need to fit in with his classmates.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown - Sick of all the bullying and taunts by other students at their high school, Valerie and her boyfriend Nick compile a 'Hate List' - then one day Nick goes into the school with a gun and uses that list of people as his targets. Valerie had no idea and is accidentally shot trying to stop Nick. Now she's back in school and must bear the responsibility of what her boyfriend has done.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - This book is most often described as 'Groundhoug Day Meets Mean Girls.' Sam, our main character, and her group of friends aren't the nicest girls in the world. They're the popular girls, girls who feel superior to everyone else due to their status and money. But when Sam dies but then she is able to repeat every day, Groundhog-style, she must dig a little deeper and get to the bottom of their bullying ways.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers- Regina used to be part of the 'Fearsome Five' - a group of Mean Girls who ruled the school. Until rumours surface of Regina and one of her friends' boyfriends. Now she's cast out of the circle and her old friends are out for revenge. The other four girls have no limits as to how far they will go to get back at Regina. Regina turns to Michael, school outcast, and former victim of bullying from Regina herself.

The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl by Barry Lyga- Fanboy's biggest dream is to write comic books and show them to his biggest inspiration. He doesn't have any friends at school except for Cal, a jock jerk who treats him differently in front of his friends. Fanboy even creates a list of people that 'piss him off' and wonders what it'd be like to take one of his dad's guns to school. After a classmate witnesses Fanboy being bullied, he teams up with Goth Girl and things begin to change..


Are there any books that you can think of that deal with bullying that you could recommend? What're your experiences with bullying?

REVIEW: Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Picture the scene: Dother Hall performing arts college somewhere Up North, surrounded by rolling dales, bearded cheesemaking villagers (male and female) and wildlife of the squirrely-type.

On the whole, it’s not quite the showbiz experience Tallulah was expecting… but once her mates turn up and they start their ‘FAME! I’m gonna liiiiive foreeeeeever, I’m gonna fill my tiiiiights’ summer course things are bound to perk up.
Especially when the boys arrive. (When DO the boys arrive?)
Six weeks of parent-free freedom.
BOY freedom.
Freedom of expression…
cos it’s the THEATRE dahling, theatre!!

Are we all huge Louise Rennison fans like me? I adored her Georgia Nicolson series and had to read her latest installments STRAIGHT.AWAY. So I was thrilled to hear that Louise Rennison was releasing this new series.

I think it'll take some time for me to stop comparing Talullah Casey with Georgia Nicolson. When I first began Withering Tights, I thought of Talullah as not quite as funny and crazy as (her cousin) Georgia. Instead of having a big nose and large basoomas, Talullah has long legs, wonky knees and no corkers to speak of. But 14 year old Talullah, at a Yorkshire school of performing arts is definitely just as boy-crazy and clueless about boy-goings-on.

She's sent off to some small little town, where she's staying with an absolutely nutty family, next door to a pub where the hottest boy around lives. There's no shops at all, but Tallulah soon makes friends with a gang of girls at her new school. Vaisey and lisping Honey, Flossie and little Jo. And just like with Georgia, they all get into some almighty embarassing scrapes.

Meeting the local boys as they're dancing around a tree. Starring in a bike ballet and doing Irish dancing at the most inopportune times. I did find Talullah to be absolutely hilarious. But also vulnerable at the same time. You can see that she's really trying hard to fit in at this school. But all of her friends can sing and dance and Talullah just doesn't know where she fits in at all.

The Yorkshire dales made for an interesting setting and I loved the inclusion of Wuthering Heights as the backdrop to everything. Especially the connection between Heathcliff and Cain, the local cad. My favourite character, however, is Ruby. The plucky little girl who lives in the pub and shows Talullah the owl eggs she's found. Some of Ruby's dialogue had me seriously laughing out loud.

It's an excellent start to the new series, with a fab new heroine, a great supporting cast of friends and some interesting new boy crushes! Bring on the next book!

Butterflies

I struggled with what to write this week on this, the day that I've chosen to dedicate to personal things and not books. Only nothing is really going on in my life that I feel ready to talk about just yet .. (however, I'm excited for things I will be sharing in the future).

I almost talked about my donkey collection again, until I realised - this blog isn't called Fluttering Eeyores, so it's probably time that I showed you a little bit of my butterfly collection. I have many books about butterflies, I love collecting handbags with butterflies, pretty shirts. But the thing that I have the most concerning butterflies is the jewellery that people give me. Every birthday and Christmas, I am almost guaranteed that someone somewhere will give me a piece of jewellery with a butterfly. And this makes me happy, it does.

I have countless butterfly necklaces and bracelets. But check out the latest to my collection ... it's a little brooch made of abalone shells that N bought for me the other day.

I love abalone with a passion. It reminds me of a happy time in my childhood. My family and I used to dive for abalone off the coast of California. Then we'd have a huge feast of breaded abalone for dinner. Once, after a particularly large abalone-collecting expedition, I asked my dad if I could bring home the abalone shells. The insides are so gorgeous, that I decorate our back garden with them. It's not often that our family did things together, like when we dove and then cooked together. So this little brooch puts an added smile on my face for combining two things I absolutely love.

How about you? Any interesting collections hidden away in your house?

REVIEW: The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

When Alton's ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. After all, it's better than a crappy summer job in the local shopping mall, and Alton's mother thinks it might secure their way to a good inheritance sometime in the future. But, like all apparently casual choices in any of Louis Sachar's wonderful books, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined. As his relationship with his uncle develops, and he meets the very attractive Toni, deeply buried secrets are uncovered and a romance that spans decades is finally brought to a conclusion. Alton's mother is in for a surprise!

I am very surprised with The Cardturner by Louis Sachar. I've read a couple of other books by Louis Sachar, most notably Holes, and loved them, so on that basis alone, I picked up this book. Well, that, and the cover is really pretty.

And then I found out it's a book about bridge. And I'll admit, that put me off for a little while. But then it came up to the time where I either had to read The Cardturner or return it to the library and now I am so glad that I chose to read it!

I adored The Cardturner. Right from the start, I really liked Alton's character. Alton's mother kind of forces this relationship between him and his ageing and rich Uncle Lester in the hopes that their family will be rewarded in his will. And Alton goes along with it all, and eventually ends up as Uncle Lester's (or Trapp as he is mostly known) cardturner at his weekly bridge club. And if you've never played bridge or don't know the rules and the intricacies of how to play bridge, then you will by the end of the novel. Sachar doesn't shy away from explaining things in detail. For people who aren't as intersted in that aspect of the book, you can skip ahead using the symbols that indicate a detailed description is approaching in the book and read a condensed version. Myself, I read every word of it, because I found it all to be fascinating!

Part of the appeal for me, was this relationship between Alton and Trapp. Trapp is kind of moody and gruff and Alton tries so hard to please his uncle. Alton realises what an exceptional person Trapp is and how his memory skill is extraordinary in terms of his bridge game. Trapp is able to remember all of his cards, his partner's cards and all the moves his opponent's played both in current games and in the past. After seeing his uncle play, Alton sees bridge more as a mental sport than a game and does his best to learn more about bridge. Even roping his little sister Leslie (who refreshingly, isn't annoying at all!) and his best friend Cliff, and Trapp's former cardturner, Toni into playing bridge with him. On the way, he uncovers some of his family's and Trapp's history and uncovers a really sweet/sad romance that had been shelved for forty years.

One of my favourite aspect of The Cardturner is this philosophical conversation between Trapp and Alton about how ideas and concepts never die. I thought the way that this idea ties into the story was interestingly done with Toni's mental health and the way in which Trapp and Annabel were connected. But lots of bridge! As a person interested in psychology, I found the limits and capacity of Trapp's memory to be absolutely captivating to read about. But also this transformation of Alton from someone who lets others walk over him into somebody who knows what he wants and goes after it.

A very interesting book, one in which I stayed up very late reading in order to find out how it ends! Don't be put off by the bridge, people!

REVIEW: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical.

Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.

I truly loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan. I read it ages ago and I've found it hard to review it. Does anyone else get that? Like review-fright for books that they loved so much? I do that all the time, and this is one of them. I haven't read many co-authored novels before, but I felt like this one worked quite well. John and David wrote the different Will Graysons and they're both interesting and different and the overlap between them was done in an interesting way. I think Tiny Cooper is one of the best written YA characters in the entire universe. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

It's the story of two boys, both named Will Grayson as they tell their stories in alternating chapters. David's Will is a little mopey and depressed and you can tell the difference between this Will and John's Will because of the lack of capitalisation - some people found that annoying/distracting but I thought it felt right. David's Will doesn't feel like he can talk to anyone, not even his friend Maura. He's not willing to tell Maura anything, even whether or not he's gay. Only Isaac, his Internet friend really gets him. So he sets off to Chicago to meet up.

Whereas John's Will Grayson is Tiny Cooper's Friend. And Tiny Cooper completely the stole the show for me. There is a fab, fab quote describing Tiny Cooper...

'Tiny Cooper is not the world’s gayest person and he is not the world’s largest person, but I believe he may be the world’s largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world’s gayest person who is really, really large.'

How can you not fall in love with that? I wanted to clap my hands every time Tiny Cooper was mentioned, by the way. So, John's Will is a little self-centred and kind of lives in this (hulking) shadow of his friend Tiny Cooper. Tiny is producing this wonderful gay musical and is trying to set up Will with Jane. So fast forward a little bit and we find the two Will Graysons meeting up in the most unlikely of places (also very hilarious!!) and it sets off the rest of the story as each of the Wills does a little growing up and realising things about themselves and the other people in their lives.

Being a massive John Green fan-girl, I thought I would love John's Will a lot more than David's Will, and it probably is easier to, as John's Will has a very John Green voice to him. John's Will's character is a little more endearing and very likeable. David's Will is neither of those things. He's a very depressed character and reading his story feels a little heavy at times, but it was David's Will who made my heart hurt. But the brilliance of Tiny Cooper balances a lot of that out.

A little word on the ending - it concludes in the most fabulous, cheeseball ending I've ever read and I couldn't love it any more if I tried. Seriously, all these months later and it STILL puts a massive grin on my face. Two thumbs up. Five stars. Highly recommended.

In My Mailbox 12

This week's IMM, which is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. I don't normally post every week, but I don't normally have this many books in one week either!


Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

The David Sedaris and Speak were picked up at a local charity shop. I've heard David Sedaris is quite funny but I've never read anything by him. I've already Speak, but wanted to read it again after the whole #speakloudly thing as well as Banned Books week. White Crow was a book swap that I'm very happy about :)

Lovers and Liars by Nina Bell
The 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison
The Long Weekend by Savita Kalkan
Hero Type by Barry Lyga

I won two twitter giveaways this week. The first was via Michelle Harrison, the author of 13 Treasures and 13 Curses who was giving away one of her books as well as The Long Weekend. Michelle is absolutely lovely and I can't wait to read both of these books. Then I won Lovers and Liars AND a signed copy of Barry Lyga's Hero Type arrived after I'd noticed he was sending free books out to book bloggers in order for us to host giveaways. So look out in the future for my giveaway of Hero Type. (I adore Twitter)

My Love Lies Bleeding by Alyxandra Harvey
Blood Feud by Alyxandra Harvey
Out for Blood by Alyxandra Harvey
The Other Girl by Sarah Miller
Breathing Underwater by Julia Green
Alpha by Rachel Vincent

Alpha was sent as part of a blog tour that will be happening later in the month. And the rest were from the wonderful people at Bloosmbury :) And that is it for me this week!

Which books arrived into your home this week? Have you read any of these books? Where should I start?

Favourite fictional fantasy places

I saw this someplace and it looked like too much fun for me to pass up. The person whose list I saw originally had Willy Wonka's chocolate factory first on their list and I thought it was inspired! (if that was you, please do comment and I will link to your blog straight away!) Without further ado, my list of favourite fantasy places...


Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - How fantastic would it be if Willy Wonka's chocolate factory were an actual place. That you could go and visit and get lost in. I would happily go there and never return. Especially with the Oompa-Loompas and that chocolate river.

Lyra's Oxford - I absolutely adore His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I love Lyra and this wonderful cast of characters, but one of my favourite things about Northern Lights, was his re-imagining of Oxford into this weirdly wonderful fantasy place, filled with daemons. It's always in the back of my head, 'if I lived there, what would my daemon look like?' Does anyone else ever wonder such things?

Hogwarts - Wouldn't everyone include Hogwarts on their list? I'm re-reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince at the moment, and hoping to carry on soon after with Deathly Hallows, and I'm absolutely positive that if this place existed, I would be beside myself with excitement. Obviously the movies brought Hogwarts to life, and as I love the movies, Hogwarts pretty much looks like it does on the screen. That's not neccessarily a bad thing, is it? Also, I'm pretty sure that I'd be a Gryffindor. Or maybe I just think I'd be in Gryffindor because I want to be in Gryffindor? I can't tell.

Old Kingdom - Another one of my favourite series ever is the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix. I loved the Old Kingdom, with Free Magic and Charter Magic and Moggett and the necromancer bells and the awesome characters, and the different gates of Death. Oh, just everything about it = love.

Discworld - I admit that I am a complete novice when it comes to Discworld! I've only read two adult Discworld novels and only read of the young Discworld novels: the first Tiffany Aching and Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents. But I think Terry Pratchett has a wonderful imagination and living in Discworld would be the closest thing to living in Terry Pratchett's mind. I think that would be truly awesome! And I know for sure that I won't stop reading Discworld for a very a long time. I have so much to catch up on!

Neverland - Ooh, Neverland. With Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. Always on some adventure and flying. Fighting with Captain Hook. I could live with that.

Oz - How much do I love Oz?! I'd love to count the ways with you, but this post would be never-ending. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I've only ever read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L Frank Baum's first book in the series on Oz. I do have the other in e-book format and will soon be getting to them. Most of my love for the place stems from the movie version. With Judy Garland and all the singing. It makes me happy.

Camelot - Is anyone else watching Merlin? I love that show. It can be a little bit silly, but I will watch it until forever. I love the magic of the show and this great relationship between Arthur and Merlin. And I love the legend of King Arthur. And his knights. And the dragons. I can't stay that I've read widely of Camelot and all its goings-on, but it's still one of my favourite fictional fantasy places!

Hundred Acre Wood - We've just started reading Winnie-the-Pooh with the boys. And I would love to live in the Hundred Acre Wood. How fun would that be? Playing Pooh-sticks and hanging out with Eeyore and Christopher Robin and everybody? Sigh.

Runners-up: Otori and Middle Earth.

Which are your favourite fictional fantasy places?