REVIEW: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

I absolutely adored The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and was thrilled to recieve a copy of this for review from Headline. It's equal parts romance and murder mystery - what a great combination. I think Kimberly Derting did an excellent job with the balance. As soon as I started reading this one I just couldn't put the book down.

Violet is no ordinary 16 year old. Since she was very young, she's had this 'special' ability to find dead bodies. Only her close family members and her best friend, Jay, are aware of her secret. It's fairly common for Violet to hear the special signals that mean that a body is near and she'll hunt it down, usually dead animals in the woods behind her house, and give it a proper burial. Her skill also includes sensing whether or not someone has killed that lingers. This ability becomes useful and also deadly dangerous when a serial killer starts snatching girls in her city and Violet begins sensing their dead bodies. Can Violet catch the killer without becoming victim as well?

There are so many great things to like about this book. The first, is the relationship between Violet and her long-time best friend Jay. Violet has only recently started developing a major crush on Jay, but over the summer he's turned into a total hottie and starts recieving attention from all the most popular and beautiful girls at school. Violet doesn't really want to jeopardise or make her friendship with Jay awkward by admitting her feelings, so instead she stands by while other girls drool all over him. I think it's fairly obvious and not spoilerish at all to the reader that Jay does in fact reciprocate Violet's feelings, but the misunderstandings and the jealousy that springs up for both of them are bittersweet and tugged at my heartstrings. I wish, just a little bit, that the tension between the two went on just a little bit longer but I can understand that can be hard to maintain, especially as there is the other major plot issue of the serial killer.

I really loved the fact that Kimberly Derting intersperses Violet's narrative with that of the thoughts and feelings of the serial killer. I thought it really added to the suspense knowing the information that we glean from inside the killer's mind. Excellent. I think Violet's forays into detective work were interesting, if a little risky. I was on board with it though. Violet does seem to make decisions and choices that are believable. Only a minor irritant, but I wasn't as convinced that the fight between Jay and Violet after some particularly hazardous sleuthing. Jay's response seemed a little extreme and not what I'd have been expecting from him, but I can see how the story needed a rift between Jay and Violet at that time.

The other thing I enjoyed, is how involved Violet's family is to the story. No absent parents here, in fact, there's also an added protective uncle. It is nice to see a main character have some support in her life. All in all, a wonderful read. Dead bodies, a hunt for a serial killer and first love. What more could you want?

REVIEW: Slog's Dad by David Almond and Dave McKean

Do you believe there’s life after death? Slog does. He reckons that the scruffy bloke sitting outside the pork shop is his dad come back to visit him for one last time – just like he’d said he would, just before he died. Slog’s mate Davie isn’t convinced. But how does this man know everything Slog’s dad would know? Because Slog says it really is his dad, that’s how.

I hadn't really heard much about this one before I saw it in the library the other day. I've loved David Almond's stories in the past and couldn't pass this one up. I decided as it was quite short that I'd read it there and then in the aisles of my library's middle grade section. Like The Savage, a previous Almond/McKean pairing, Slog's Dad is a story as well as graphic novel. I think David Almond and Dave McKean both bring wonderful things to this story, from the beautiful illustrations to the sweet little story.

It didn't take me long to read, this one, no more than half an hour. This story is told through the eyes of Davie, Slog's mate. Davie doesn't believe that people can back to life after death. But Slog does. Slog thinks the homeless man outside the shops is his dad, come to say hello. And how can Davie say any thing different when he's up against Slog's total and utter belief?

The story of Slog's dad and how he died and how Slog has coped with that is told both through words and through very touching illustrations. I was left captivated by this little story and I was hoping harder than I had in awhile that Slog was right and that belief that his father has came back would be kept alive, even if his dad wasn't. The story, however, was far too short. But still, I would love to see more of David Almond and Dave McKean books in the future. Longer ones.

Happy 5th birthday E!

Every year on birthdays and Christmas, we take these photos of the boys with the wrapping paper.. It makes me happy seeing his beautiful smile.

I can't believe he's 5 already! How did that happen? We've had a party, we've had delicious cake, we've opened the presents. We've had a wonderful birthday weekend, and I keep having flashbacks of my little boy as a newborn, toddling around on unsteady feet, his first day of nursery, seeing him in his big boy school uniform not long ago.

My boy is growing up so quickly! He's so sweet and thoughtful and helpful, clever and gorgeous that I can't bear it sometimes. How did I get so lucky?

Happy birthday Baby!

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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren which highlights the books that have been arrived into our houses each week. Each of the books listed below have been bought new, from charity shops, have been sent via publishers or authors, acquired via a book swapping website or borrowed from friends or the library.


Being Billy by Phil Earle - Faces flashed before my eyes. And for every face there was a time that they had let me down. Each punch that landed was revenge, my chance to tell them I hadn’t forgotten what they did. Eight years in a care home makes Billy Finn a professional lifer. And Billy’s angry – with the system, the social workers, and the mother that gave him away. As far as Billy’s concerned, he’s on his own. His little brother and sister keep him going, though they can’t keep him out of trouble. But he isn’t being difficult on purpose. Billy’s just being Billy. He can’t be anything else. Can he?

This one sounds heartbreaking. I've heard good things about it though and am really looking forward.

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The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney - Some schools have honor codes.
Others have handbooks.
Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.

This will be the next book I read. I hope that the subject matter isn't too heavy :( I seem to be reading a fair amount of grim books lately.

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Weight by Jeannette Winterson - In ancient Greek mythology Atlas, a member of the original race of gods called Titans, leads a rebellion against the new deities, the Olympians. For this he incurs divine wrath: the victorious Olympians force Atlas, guardian of the Garden of Hesperides and its golden apples of life, to bear the weight of the earth and the heavens for eternity. When the hero Heracles, as one of his famous twelve labors, is tasked with stealing these apples he seeks out Atlas, offering to shoulder the world temporarily if the Titan will bring him the fruit. Knowing that Heracles is the only person with the strength to take his burden, and enticed by the prospect of even a short-lived freedom, Atlas agrees and an uneasy partnership is born.

I've immensely enjoyed the Canongate Myths books and I've enjoyed Jeannette Winterson's book in the past, so I'm hoping this one will be a good fit for me, even though I know next to nothing about Atlas or this particular Greek myth.

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Firespell by Chloe Neill - As the new girl at the elite St. Sophia’s boarding school, Lily Parker thinks her classmates are the most monstrous things she’ll have to face…

When Lily’s guardians decided to send her away to a fancy boarding school in Chicago, she was shocked. So was St. Sophia’s. Lily’s ultra-rich brat pack classmates think Lily should be the punchline to every joke, and on top of that, she’s hearing strange noises and seeing bizarre things in the shadows of the creepy building.

The only thing keeping her sane is her roommate, Scout, but even Scout’s a little weird—she keeps disappearing late at night and won’t tell Lily where she’s been. But when a prank leaves Lily trapped in the catacombs beneath the school, Lily finds Scout running from a real monster.

Scout’s a member of a splinter group of rebel teens with unique magical talents, who’ve sworn to protect the city against demons, vampires, and Reapers, magic users who’ve been corrupted by their power. And when Lily finds herself in the line of a firespell, Scout tells her the truth about her secret life, even though Lily has no powers of her own—at least none that she’s discovered yet…

I don't know much about this book and I couldn't get to grips with another book by Chloe Neill that I tried, but I'm all about second chances! I'll give this one a go.

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My So Called Haunting by Tamsyn Murray - How many times do I have to ask you to knock?' I yelled at Mary as she drifted through the door of my room and looked me up and down.
'Thou resemblest a strumpet,' she said, staring pointedly at my thigh-skimming skirt.
Sometimes I had trouble understanding Mary’s weird babbling, but in this case I was getting her loud and clear. Suddenly, my mood was blacker than a vampire’s soul.

Skye, a fourteen-year-old psychic, is stressed out. Not only is the ghost of a sixteenth-century witch giving her fashion tips, but she’s struggling to settle into life with her aunt, and is developing a crush on the most unattainable boy in the school, Nico.

When her aunt asks for her help with a troubled teen ghost called Dontay, she's glad of the distraction. But then Nico starts paying her attention, and she's soon facing a battle to keep her love life and her psychic life separate.

As things get ever more complicated, it looks as though Dontay’s past might cost Skye her future.

And WOOHOO for this boook. SO looking forward to it. I *loved* My So-Called Afterlife (though I've been nervous to review it for some reason?) and I'm sure I'll love this one too. I think it has an absolutely gorgeous cover.

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And that's it for me this week. I'm off to do exciting things with the rest of my afternoon. Probably won't get the chance to read my book OR any of these, but I hope you get that chance. Happy reading!

Also, which books arrived into your house this week?

An ex-patriate's Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. Thanksgiving is a holiday that I've celebrated every year for the last 10 years that I've been living here in England. It's not always easy. As it isn't a holiday here, of course N doesn't get the day off. It'll probably never be a huge affair with lots of people and a huge table of food. Still, we do our very best to celebrate in our own way.

This year, things were extra complicated (N was really busy at work, my mother-in-law was in hospital having an operation, I fell down the stairs), but I think it's always nice to spend time thinking of all the things that I'm grateful for. My beautiful family: N, my boys, my mother-in-law, my dad. I'm thankful for my health, having enough of everything so that my life isn't hard. This book blog and all my wonderful readers. Every year at the dinner table, I always say I'm grateful for laughter, and I am. Especially the laughter of my Eldest. It's so loud and infectious and no matter how I'm feeling, I can't help but smile or even laugh at his laugh.

Every year, our family will prepare something special for Thanksgiving. It's almost never turkey as we're only four of us. N sometimes makes roast chicken, sometimes we'll choose American-themed foods. This year, the theme was Soul Food, and I prepared chicken jambalaya and cornbread and candied sweet potatoes. Delicious.



We always have pumpkin pie for dessert and every year the mixture is either too thick or I leave it in the oven too long. Every year I'm disappointed at how awful my pumpkin pies turned out, until this year. This year, they were heavenly. I'm not sure how much the boys enjoyed it though, but that just means there's more for me!

As an extra special treat, N ordered a big box full of American sweets for me. As you well know, American sweets are what I miss most, so it was a lovely thing for him to do. I can't wait to dig into it all ..

And that's it. That's how this little family celebrates our Thanksgiving. Thanks for indulging me in this personal post that has little impact or interest for anyone else outside of my family! And again, I'm thankful for each and every one of you. It's because of you that I write this blog.

Thank you.

REVIEW: Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak

Cameron Wolfe is the quiet one in his family, not a soccer star like his brother Steve or a charming fighter with a new girl every week like his brother Rube. Cam would give anything to be near one of those girls, to love her and treat her right. He especially likes Rube's latest, Octavia, with her brilliant ideas and bright green eyes. But what woman like that would want a loser like him? Maybe Octavia would, Cam discovers. Maybe he'd even have something to say. And those maybes change everything: winning, loving, losing, the Wolfe brothers, and Cameron himself.

It is official, I love Markus Zusak. I knew after I'd finished Fighting Ruben Wolfe, that I really would have to read this sequel, Getting the Girl soon. And as much as I loved FRW, I loved Getting the Girl more. Wheras Fighting Ruben Wolfe was mostly the story of two brothers, Ruben and Cameron, Getting the Girl is really just Cameron's story.

Cameron is nothing special. He lives at home with his dad and Mrs. Wolfe and his brother and sister. His dad has finally found a steady job and the rumours about his sister seem to have disappeared. Ruben and Cameron no longer have to fight for their honour and pride as they did in Fighting Ruben Wolfe. Cameron's eldest brother, Steve is successful and good at things, like soccer and getting out of their house and becoming someone. Ruben is charming and confident and always has a string of girls ready and waiting for him.

Cameron has never had a girlfriend. He's never even touched a girl. Instead, he is left pining over a girl who he met only briefly ages ago. He takes to standing in front of her house for hours on age, just staring. Waiting. He even has a massive crush on Ruben's girlfriend, Octavia. Of course, being a teenage male, he thinks a lot about sex, but Cameron would like nothing better than to drown himself in another person. He'd love to talk about things and really care about another person. He's very lonely, poor Cameron. He takes to writing his thoughts down and carrying the scraps of paper around with him. His writing seems to be the only thing holding him together as he goes through his days. Then things really start to change when Ruben and Octavia are no longer together and it might seem as though Octavia might actually be interested in Cam. Will he ever get the girl? Will he ever gain any confidence and belief in himself? Will his family ever see him in a different light?

What I love so much about this book, other than Cam's earnest sensitivity, is the family dynamic In Getting the Girl, the main emphasis isn't on the two brothers Cam and Ruben. But that loyalty between the two is still there, as is Ruben's easy insults about Cam. Steve and Sarah, the other two Wolfe siblings have a bigger part to play in this book - one in which threatens to destroy Cam's sense of self and the other to raise him up. I love how realistic and dysfunctional Zusak writes his families, they feel so believeable.

Cam's voice and his thumping big heart steals the show, of course. He seems very innocent and at the same time very wise and his observations of the world and of those around him and very poetic with a hint of the grittty at times. My only complaint of this novel is that it didn't last quite long enough for me. I really do hope that Zusak writes more of the Wolfe family, for they are fascinating.

Random Acts of Kindness

I was walking to pick my Eldest up from school the other day when an unexpected thing happened.

A woman was walking on this path up ahead of me. She stopped and stared at Littlest in his pushchar and me for a minute before turning down another path. A minute later or so, I turned the same way. The lady was just at the top of the path and we caught up with her easily. When she saw me, she said 'Oh! Are you walking in this direction?' I said 'yes' and so she says 'I am too, you can share my umbrella.' It was the nicest most unexpected thing ever. It was pouring down with rain and we walked for a good 10 minutes together. Had quite the nice conversation as well.

I told several people at the schoolyard while I was standing there waiting for E to come out. I told my mother-in-law on the phone later that afternoon. I told N. I even told people on twitter. Because it was such a small thing but it MADE MY DAY.

It seemed like such an unusual occurence. When did people stop being decent and courteous to other people? When did doing something nice become so surprising? So, together with my copy of Random Acts of Kindness by Danny Wallace, I'm going to start doing nice things for other people. It can't be that hard, right? And it does seem like the smallest, unexpected things mean so much more than something big and major. Which is great for me, because big and major aren't really accessible right now.

Let the Random Acts of Kindness begin. I'll keep you posted.

ARC REVIEW: You Against Me by Jenny Downham

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another.

(Thanks goes to Rosi and Random House for providing me with an ARC of this book.)

Oh wow, this book. A few years ago I absolutely adored Jenny Downham's previous book Before I Die. It was so emotional and powerful and I couldn't wait to read more of her work. So I was absolutely thrilled to pieces when Random House offered to send me an advanced reader's copy of this book - You Against Me by Jenny Downham. This book will be published 2 December and you really must read it. It's a really beautiful book.

You Against Me tells a heart-breaking story of two families torn apart by a sexual assault. Mikey and his two sisters live in a council estate and seem to be just getting by. Mikey is really popular with the ladies and is really getting into his job in the kitchen of a pub. Learning new ways to cook and prepare food. When his little sister Karyn gets drunk at a party and accuses a wealthy boy of rape, Mikey and his whole family's lives are changed. Mikey's mother succumbs to drinking and staying in bed, Karyn refuses to leave the flat, drops out of school and refuses to leave the flat. It's left to Mikey to make sure his sister Holly gets to school on time and everyone is still eating. Karyn seems to really need to talk about what happened, but all Mikey can focus on is getting revenge on Tom. That's what big brothers are supposed to do, right? Protect their younger sisters?

Meanwhile, Ellie's family is transforming as well. Tom says he didn't do it. That Karyn was a willing partner, and Tom's little sister, Ellie is the only person in the house who can defend her brother. And that's what sisters should do, right? Defend her brother who has always been there for her growing up? Karyn's parents will do anything for their son Tom. Throw him huge parties when he makes bail to show to him and the whole neighbourhood how much they believe in their son's innocence. They hire the best lawyers and avoid any details or doubt about what happened that night. Ellie tells the police she didn't see or hear anything that night, but what really happened?

Everyone's opinions seem to be divided. Is Karyn a slut for getting drunk at a party and throwing herself at Tom? Should she have worn that skimpy skirt? Is Tom a rapist? If he's convicted, he could face time in jail, go on the sex offender's list. When Mikey comes poking around trying to find any clues or evidence that could help his sister's case, Mikey and Ellie have this immediate connection. But can two people who are brought together under these horrible circumstances ever really make it?

I really loved the ways in which Downham stressed loyalty in this book. Mikey and Ellie each have their own ties to their family and friends. How can either of them do something that will go against their sister or brother? Against their parents or friends. I love how Mikey struggles with this burden of protecting his sisters. How Ellie must carry the weight of her brother's future on her shoulders. And besides familial obligations, there's Jacko, Mikey's friend who seems willing to do anything for Mikey because they're best mates. And despite Karyn's reluctance to speak to anyone outside her family, you can see how much her friends are supporting her at school.

Honestly, as soon as I started this book, I couldn't bear to put it down. The characters are complicated and flawed. The dialogue and each character's behaviour seemed believeable and realistic. The pacing is fantastic and the story is absolutely absorbing. I couldn't wait to find out what happened. With Karyn and Tom, with Mikey and Ellie. With each broken family.

You Against Me was a real treat to read, and definitely one not to miss. Highly recommended.

REVIEW: Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis

My Name is Zelah Green and I'm a cleanaholic. I spend most of my life running away from germs, dirt, and people. And I'm just about doing ok and then my stepmother packs me off to some kind of hospital to live with a load of strangers. It's stuck in the middle of nowhere. Great. There's Alice who's anorexic. Caro who cuts herself. Silent Sol who has the cutest smile. And then there's me.

I really loved Zelah Green by Vanessa Curtis. I was told beforehand that it's a very loose retelling of Snow White, but if I hadn't known that, it probably wouldn't have been obvious to me while reading it as there is so much that is different. And I do love a really original retelling.

Instead of being perfect and beautiful, like Snow White, Zelah Green has plenty of problems. She begins her story by explaining her unusual name with a really romanticised ideal of what might have happened and then shatters it all with a bit of reality. Her parent's arguing, her mother choosing a name out of spite. It's not a fairy tale with this book. Zelah's mother's death really affected her and instead of dealing with her wild emotions and grief, she tried to force it all away and focused on other things that she could control. So begins her obsessive compulsive disorder. Washing each hand 31 times. Not being able to touch other people or anything that might be unclean. Sitting on a tissue everywhere she goes. Being on Germ and Dirt Alert. Those rosy cheeks that Snow White is famous for? Zelah's cheeks are red from all the scrubbing she does.

When Zelah's father goes missing, she's left with her step-mother who doesn't really understand her. The step-mother asks her neighbour to drive Zelah off to a mental institution instead of dealing with Zelah's 'little problem.' But Heather, Zelah's neighbour can't bring herself to do that, and instead takes 14 year old Zelah to Forest Hill House, where a whole house of troubled teens live, each battling with their own demons. There, Zelah is able to understand herself and her OCD a little better, come to terms with some of the events that led her here in the first place and move on, just a bit. But it isn't easy.

I really loved the people at Forest Hill House. From The Doc, Zelah's behavioural therapist, Josh, her Jesus-lookalike husband. The other teens - Alice, dealing with anorexia. Sol who doesn't speak. Caro, who had such an attitude and cuts herself. Each had their own stories and grief to deal with and they are a far cry from the happy dwarves of the fairy tale. Zelah is an interesting character, I've never had much experience with obsessive compulsive disorder and I did learn quite a bit about her mental processes dealing with her impulses. She had a great voice and while sometimes she did observe the actions of behaviours of those around her, Curtis did a great job of letting the reader come to their own conclusions about what is going on.

This book was a really wonderful and gritty alternative look at a modern-day Snow White. Zelah Green opened my eyes about OCD and it's symptoms while at the same time giving us a very likeable main character who we can all root for and get behind.

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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren which highlights the books that have been arrived into our houses each week. Each of the books listed below have been bought new, from charity shops, have been sent via publishers or authors, acquired via a book swapping website or borrowed from friends.


Push by Sapphire - An electrifying first novel that shocks by its language, its circumstances, and its brutal honesty, Push recounts a young black street-girl's horrendous and redemptive journey through a Harlem inferno. For Precious Jones, 16 and pregnant with her father's child, miraculous hope appears and the world begins to open up for her when a courageous, determined teacher bullies, cajoles, and inspires her to learn to read, to define her own feelings and set them down in a diary.

This was recently made into a movie called Precious. I haven't seen the movie and I didn't realise the movie was based on a book either. It sounds quite sad, but that seems to be my thing these days.

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So Much To Tell You by John Marsden - Scarred, literally, by her past, Marina has withdrawn into silence. Then, at her new boarding school, she is set the task of writing a diary by her English teacher, and finds a way of expressing her thoughts and feelings and of exploring the traumatic events that have caused her distress. Through Marina's diary we gain an insight into life on her dormitory, and her difficult relationship with her father, who injured her in an angry moment. Eventually, Marina makes tentative friendships and, in a moving denouement, is reconciled with her father.

I recently read a review of this at another UK book blogger's site, I Was A Teenage Book Geek which sounded like this is a book that I'd really enjoy reading. I've only just noticed that this and Push are both novels in diary format. What a strange coincidence! (Finished this one already and enjoyed it!)

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Chanda's Secret by Allan Stratton - A girl's struggle amid the African AIDS pandemic.

"As soon as I get back from the shabeen, I go next door to see Mrs. Tafa. I have to ask to use her phone to let our relatives know about Sara. I'm nervous. Mrs. Tafa would like to run the world. Since she can't run the world she's decided to run our neighborhood."

So speaks sixteen-year-old Chanda, an astonishingly perceptive girl living in the small city of Bonang, a fictional city in Southern Africa.

While Mrs. Tafa's hijinks are often amusing, the fact is that Chanda's world is profoundly difficult. When her youngest sister dies, the first hint of HIV/AIDS emerges.

In this sensitive, swiftly-paced story readers will find echoes of To Kill a Mockingbird as Chanda must confront undercurrents of shame and stigma. Not afraid to explore the horrific realities of AIDS, Chanda's Secrets also captures the enduring strength of loyalty, friendship and family ties. Above all, it is a story about the corrosive nature of secrets and the healing power of truth.

Through the artful style of acclaimed author Stratton, the determination and resilience Chanda embodies will live on in readers' minds.

And this one is for Caroline's HIV/AIDS in YA Literature week over at Portrait of A Woman. I expect it to be a very sad and moving book.

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Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder - I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

I've been hearing great reviews of this one from some American blogs and I'm thrilled that it will be published here in the UK in January! I adore this cover, it makes me that little bit more excited to read it.

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My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent - Being a teenager just got much more complicated. There is something very wrong with Kaylee Cavanaugh: she senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

Isn't that interesting cover art? Lots of people rave about Rachel Vincent, so I feel like I really need to read more of her work. This looks like an excellent place to start :)

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Entangled by Cat Clarke - 'The same questions whirl round and round in my head: What does he want from me? How could I have let this happen? AM I GOING TO DIE?' 17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there. As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see? Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here? A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE. Really. I am so super excited to have this book. I really, really cannot wait at all to read it. My happy dance was danced with this one. (I know which book I'm reading first.)

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Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson - Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew—just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn’t seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she’s coming to terms with her father’s death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road—diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards—this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

Ooh. I didn't realise this was one was going to be a hardback book. Flicking through it, it looks like it'll be fun to read, with the photos and drawings and lists and scraps and things. And you know how much I adore road trips, don't you? (Don't you?)

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Also! This just in - the postman has just delivered NINE books by Joseph Delaney in the Spook's Apprentice series! Wow. All those books. Better get reading.


And from the library.. (which I've been really impressed with lately!)

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld - Super excited to read this, the sequel to Leviathan!

The Dead by David Gatward - Another sequel, this time for a new horror series.

The Dead and The Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer - Wow, am I on a roll with the sequels? The follow up to Life As We Knew It.

Revolver by Marcus Sedgwick - After reading White Crow, which I adored, I thought I'd never look out for more books by Marcus Sedgwick

iBoy by Kevin Brooks - I just finished another book by Kevin Brooks this week, Kissing the Rain, and have picked up another book by him!

Boys Don't Cry by Malorie Blackman - Besides Entangled, this is the book I'm most excited about!

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - The size of this one intimidates me just a little, but I'm sure I'll love it.

Trash by Andy Mulligan - I absolutely adore the cover of this one.

Which books came into your house this week?

REVIEW: Kissing the Rain by Kevin Brooks

Moo Nelson likes to be alone. Overweight and shy, Moo is constantly mocked and bullied by his cruel classmates. He's happiest spending time on a secluded bridge above the highway, watching the cars go by. One day, from his special spot, Moo witnesses a crime that changes his life forever. He sees a car chase and a murder--and suddenly Moo's a celebrity of sorts. The police, the lawyers, and even the bullies are now really interested in Moo. But so is one shady character who seems intent on tracking Moo down. Now all Moo has to do is find out the truth behind the crime...before it's too late.

I found it quite difficult to find my place with this book. I knew that it would be difficult to read based on the subject matter but to go along with the bullying and getting caught up in a murder trial, there is also the issue of the main character's poor spelling, grammar and over-use of capitalisation. Kissing the Rain by Kevin Brooks is written in a very conversational way and I don't think that everyone will be able to slog through that first section of the book getting to know Moo Nelson and the story that he has to tell, as it's peppered with aints and dunnos and yehs. Which is a shame, because once I got through the first 100 pages I really started to feel for Moo. He's really stuck in a difficult situation, but he tries his best to do the right thing and to tell the truth.

Moo Nelson is an overweight teenager who is quite heavily abused by his peers because of his size. Every day he deals with the name-calling, the laughing, the mocking. He's frequently beaten up, has rocks thrown at him and he's taunted in every way, which he calls the RAIN. It's at such a level that all the days sort of meld together, no one day worse or better than the other. In order to get away from it all, he visits the bridge, where he's able to watch the traffic going back and forth and it's peaceful and calm and he's able to relax and not care so much about the bullying. Until one day, he witnesses a car accident and an altercation between two drivers that leads to a murder.

Moo is the only witness and once he gives a statement to the police he's put in this awful position between an influential and dodgy police officer and a ruthless gangster. Each tries to convince, intimidate, and threaten Moo into either telling the truth or changing his story. Just as with Moo's tormentors at school, Moo is caught in a power struggle, only this time more is at stake.

Moo is definitely a very interesting character. In terms of the accident and murder, he's an excellent eyewitness, with a great eye for detail - his version of events that he witnessed rarely falters. When discussing the treatment he has recieved at the hands of the other students, he doesn't particularly feel sorry for himself. About his weight, he feels no shame or guilt for the amount that he loves food or for how much of it he eats. Though there are moments of crudeness when talking about 'needing the bog' it's quite clear what a struggle Moo is going through and as the reader I was able to sympathise with him a great deal. Throughout the course of the novel, Moo is only trying to piece together what he knows about the accident, the case, what he's been told by the lawyers and police officers.

Moo's philosophy on the bullying is that it won't kill him. In ten minutes it's usually over and what can't he stand for ten minutes? Better to just 'umbrellarise it' and wait to get the bridge again, where he can be content for a little while. Only after he witnesses the crime, the RAIN stops for him and instead of him, all the RAIN and abuse is directed towards Brady, Moo's only sort-of friend. I loved Moo's struggle within himself to stand up for Brady and stand up for himself.

There's more here than just a gritty YA novel about bullying. It touches on telling the truth, friendship, trust and standing up for what's right. It was a very interesting read and I'm glad I stuck with it, even if the ending was not at all what I was expecting.

I read this book for Anti-Bullying Week, being hosted over at Asamum Booktopia.

Bullying and Speak Giveaway

It's Anti-Bullying Week and together, with Emma at Asamum Booktopia, I've decided to use this week to highlight this widespread problem by reviewing some books that focus on bullying. You should already have seen my reviews of Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers and The Killer's Daughter by Vivian Oldaker. Tomorrow (I hope!), there will be a review of Kissing The Rain by Kevin Brooks.

Each of these books deals with different aspects of bullying. Bullying can be anything, including but not limited to social exclusion, verbal, mental and physical abuse. For each of these books, there is a different reason for the bullying, whether it be small-mindedness, jealousy or dislike for someone different. But for today, I'd like to talk about something different and share with you some of my own experiences with bullying growing up.

I don't know about you, but I went through quite a lot of bullying as a child. I am half Native-Alaskan, and together with my older brother, we were generally two of a very small handful of minority students in our school districts. So everywhere we went, we'd have to deal with some level of racist name-calling. We were usually mistaken for Mexican and would be called anything from 'Wetback' to 'Mexi-tot'(those tater tots that used to be sold at Taco Time). It always felt like a battlefield in the cafeteria, like there were only certain tables that I was allowed to sit at.

Later, in middle school, another student in my class decided to single me out and mutter the N word at me every chance he got, mixing the name-calling with the threat of physical violence. He used to follow me around, intimidating me at every opportunity and I dreaded going to school. (He was eventually expelled from the school for holding a younger student at knife-point in order to steal their lunch money.)

But the name-calling didn't stop with the racist abuse - anything from wearing glasses (Four-Eyes), my weight (Fatty), my hair style (Lesbian) - it always seemed that someone had something nasty to say to me, to make me feel worthless, ugly, stupid, and powerless. The mocking, the name-calling, the very subtle negative remarks had a huge impact on my self-esteem and my confidence. I was singled out, humiliated. It prevented me from doing certain activities, it made me feel scared and helpless and alone.

Because we often moved and changed schools frequently, during this time, I never felt as though I had a support network or someone to turn to for advice or help. Instead of standing up to my bullies, I sat in silence and let them get away with it. I wish things had been different. When I moved to a different school district where we were able to settle down and stay for awhile, I did fall into a wonderful group of friends and together we coped with things a lot better (it didn't go away, I just wasn't as isolated). I wish that the guidance counsellors and teachers were able to help more, that there was a better system in place for others, like me, who were bullied. In retrospect, while it may have felt differently at the time, my experiences were probably quite minor and there are many who did had it a lot worse.

But it isn't like it is is movies and TV, is it? There was never a concerned teacher asking me to stay after class because they'd noticed my grades dropping. If I was aware of the guidance counsellor in school (which I rarely was!), then his/her offices would always be hugely inaccessible, buried amongst the school reception and I wouldn't dare show up around there, not knowing where to go. It was easy to lie to my dad and saying things were 'fine' at school and nobody, not the teachers, the guidance counsellors, my parents, my friends seemed to notice me slip into depression, my loss of appetite or my attempts at shrinking into myself. I can't say that it was all down to the bullying at school, but it played a big part in my childhood.

If there was anything I could change or any advice that I'd like to give to myself or to anyone else suffering bullying - is that you really must speak up. Your parents, your friends, your teachers, your guidance councellor. They're all there to help you, but they can't do it alone and they aren't mind readers. If you've experienced any of these problems, do speak speak up and speak out against bullying. And it does get better. Don't lose hope.

I've decided in celebration of Anti-Bullying Week, to give away my copy of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. I love Speak and by extension, Laurie Halse Anderson. She writes really gritty and realistic books for teenagers. I'd have loved to have read her book in middle school and high school.

If you would like to read this wonderful book, or if you would like to donate it to your local library or give it to a friend who hasn't read it, please leave me a 'pick me' comment below together with an email address and I will choose one winner by Wednesday the 24 November. This giveaway is open internationally.

This post was written for Anti-Bully Week, being hosted over at Asamum Booktopia.

REVIEW: The Killer's Daughter by Vivian Oldaker

Emma's life has been turned upside down since her father was accused of murdering her grandmother in Kalos, Greece. Although he was found not guilty, the accusation haunts the family, and they relocate to Wessex in an attempt to make a fresh start. But news of the family's history has travelled with them, and Emma becomes the target of vicious bullies at school. Enough is finally enough, and Emma secretly hatches a plan to visit Kalos to find the truth and try to clear her father's name. But, as the plot begins to thicken, Emma finds herself in grave danger...

I must start by saying a huge thank you to Vivian Oldaker for sending me a copy of her wonderful book, The Killer's Daughter. I had such fun reading it, thank you. It goes perfectly with Anti-Bullying Week.

I thought The Killer's Daughter was an amazing book. Emma's sarcastic voice and her observations of her family and those around her were brilliant. I also found it refreshing how different Emma is as a teenager compared with other YA novels. Her heartthrob crush is John Travolta, she isn't after a boyfriend and she's quite studious and responsible. She gets on her with father and step-mother.

When her father is accused of murdering her grandmother in Greece but is then found to be not-guilty of the charges, everything in Emma's life begins to change. Her family move from their home in London to Wessex in order to get out of the limelight and the harassment. But the story has followed them to the little village they have chosen. Emma's classmates are especially cruel to her. Calling her 'Killer's Daughter,' saying cruel and nasty things about her, pushing gum into her hair, starting fights. Emma's puts on a brave front, even standing up to her main tormentor a few times but still, it isn't easy for her. The other students do all that they can in order for Emma to feel left out and alone.

Their small-mindedness is absolutely infuriating, but in order to prove them wrong and for Emma and her family to move on from this, Emma decides to go back to Greece and try to do some investigating of her own in order to clear her father's name once and for all. With the help of her new friend and love-interest, Bruce, they travel back to Kalos and dig up some information about her grandmother, her friends and her activities before she dies. Emma takes some awfully big risks and we're left guessing all the way to the end.

Emma is a wonderful character. At times she seems so grown-up when she's talking about her father and Jan, her step-mother. Her personality and the way in which she thinks and speaks made me laugh out loud on quite a few occasions. You can tell that the bullying that occurs really upsets Emma, but Oldaker was quite clever in showing us how Emma feels instead of telling us outright. What's great about Emma, is that she doesn't let the bullying affect her life too greatly, instead using the experience to move forward and change the things in her life that most upset her. I absolutely feared for her in Greece as she took awful risks and probably went too far in order to find the truth.

Quite a slim book, once you start reading The Killer's Daughter you won't want to put it down until it's finished and you've found out just who was responsible! Highly recommended.

I read this book for Anti-Bullying Week, being hosted over at Asamum Booktopia.

REVIEW: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

Phew. This book. It isn't easy reading. When I bought it, I didn't even know that it was about an extreme case of bullying. But I read and absolutely loved Courtney Summers' first book, Cracked Up to Be, and bought Some Girls Are on that alone. This is the perfect book to have read for Anti-Bullying Week and I have to applaud Courtney Summers for this astonishing and heartbreaking book. How did she do it?

Regina Afton shouldn't be a character that is likeable. She used to be part of the popular group of Mean Girls at school. She didn't mind tearing down other people, bullying them, starting vicious rumours, all to get ahead and hold some power, be friends with the other mean girls and especially their leader, Anna. Regina fully admits to doing a lot of horrific things and some things she feels guilt over, some she really, really doesn't. And yet, I cried my heart out for Regina whilst reading this book.

When I started, the book felt very similar to Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Regina is at a party, there is a sexual assault and afterwards, Regina is shunned by her former friends and becomes an outcast. But there's where the similarities end. Some Girls Are is taken to a level of extreme bullying that I found incredibly difficult to read. Regina is sexually assaulted by her best friend's boyfriend and in desperation, Regina turns to her sworn enemy, Kara, for help, thinking, incorrectly, that Regina would be met with compassion and understanding. Instead, Kara twists the information around and leads Anna to believe that what happens between Regina and Donnie is consensual. Thus begins an absolute nightmare of abuse.

Anna, Kara and their clique of girls have no limits as to how far they will go to take Regina down. Phsycial abuse, rumours, vandalism, destruction of property, a nasty website, even a push down some stairs. And Regina endures it all. She must hide in storage cupboards and sit at the table with the losers and walk down those school corridors with no one supporting her. The teachers, the principal, Regina's parents - nobody's eyes seem to be open enough to see how much torment Regina goes through. In fact, nobody at the school wants to stand up for Regina after the damage and rumours that she's caused and started. Her only solace comes in the most unlikeliest of sources - Michael, the boy who is an absolute loner and outcast, and he is in that position because of the rumours that Regina started. Regina and Michael start out as two outcasts sharing the same lunch table, but from there begin a very fragile relationship that could splinter and break at any moment because of their shared history of tormentor and victim.

What I loved most about Some Girls Are is the complexity of the characters - Regina, Michael, Anna and Kara. Nothing is as it seems with these people. They each have their own own histories that have led them to choosing the actions and behaviours that they have adopted. And especially in Regina's case, it's a very emotional journey throughout this book. Regina is suffering a great deal, both with her horrifying experience with Donnie but also the treatment of her former friends. Her exclusion from absolutely everything causes Regina to lose all hope and pin everything on her chances of a friendship with Michael. Forgiveness. Regina is eaten up by guilt for the things that she has done and it couldn't have been more painful to read. I heaved great big sloppy sobs reading Some Girls Are.

Some Girls Are is an important book to read. Through the difficult subject matter, it sheds a light on both the cruelty of people, but also on the fragility and strength of the human spirit. The capacity of forgiveness and friendship. I loved the book's messiness, it's grittiness and it's complexity. Not everything is resolved at the end, nobody is perfect and each character is still flawed and damaged by the events that occurred. I'm really glad to have read this book.

I read this book for Anti-Bullying Week, being hosted over at Asamum Booktopia.

REVIEW: I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

After capturing a bank robber, nineteen-year-old cab driver Ed Kennedy begins receiving mysterious messages that direct him to addresses where people need help, and he begins getting over his lifelong feeling of worthlessness.

This has been one of my favourite books that I've read all year. I really love the way Markus Zusak writes and with this story, I was pulled instantly into Ed's head and his life.

Ed Kennedy is 19. He's a cab driver and he's in love with his best friend, Audrey, who has no idea of his feelings. He really doesn't think much of himself, he think of himself as kind of a loser, living alone with The Doorman, his very old dog. After catching a bank robber, Ed is mysteriously sent a playing card in the post with addresses on them. Ed soon discovers that he's been given a task, and that he must send a message to each of the people listed on the playing card. Strangers at first and then things a little closer to home...

With the help of the playing cards, Ed is able to see clearly how much he has to offer to his neighbours, his community, his friends and family. He is finally able to connect with other people and he's in a position to help out and make a change, a difference. Ed is able to see that he does have worth, that he is important. And while it isn't always easy and Ed does struggle with some of the messages, he always tries to find the courage from somewhere to make things happen. And I think it's a wonderful message to give to teenagers these days. Don't we all sometimes think of ourselves as a bit of an Ed Kennedy?

Honestly, this book had such an impact on me. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but some of the addresses that Ed is led to absolutely broke my heart. The old woman who mistakes Ed for the husband she lost decades ago, the poor family who is utterly and entirely happy, a young wife abused by her husband. I think it could have been very easy for Zusak to turn this story into something very cheesy and over the top, but he doesn't. It could have been preachy, but it didn't. As well as having quite a few melodramatic moments as Ed changes the lives of others, there's always lots of humour.

From the bank robbery at the beginning, to Ed's interactions with his friends and the strangers he's been led to, this book is just beautiful. Beautifully written and a lovely message sent to all of us. That we all can be more than we think, that we all have the power to change our own lives and the lives of those around us.

Merlin and Arthurian legend

I think I've written about it before... that I feel sort of drawn to Arthurian legend. Something about it just fascinates me, but I haven't read much about it. I really only know a general outline of which events occurred and the main set of characters. I wonder why that is? Maybe I'm not looking for or reading the right types of books? I'm not sure. Perhaps you can recommend something good for me? I really only know the basics and would like to know more.



I do, however, get very excited by the BBC's Merlin and look forward to watching it every week. I'm an episode behind at the moment and while I know that there are flaws in the show, it's still very fun to watch. And the best part is that my Eldest absolutely adores watching it with me. He loves how Merlin is so clumsy, he loves watching the swordfighting and while I thought he might be a bit scared of some of the villians in each episode, he instead laughs and enjoys himself, same as I do.



The other night before bed, Eldest and I were curled up on the sofa together watching an episode of Merlin and I remembered that we'd taken him to see the Winchester Round Table earlier in the year and he's always been interested in castles and knights and things like that. I was thinking perhaps it'd be a good idea to read up more on Arthur together.

Do you watch Merlin? Do you have any books about Arthurian legend to recommend for me?

REVIEW: Notes From the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell

Taking their anti-social edge one step further, seventeen year old Gem and her friends Mira and Lo have decided to go 'underground'. Their activities will be 'extreme', 'anti-establishment', 'avant-garde' and 'debauched'. While Gem makes an underground film and Mira sets about pursuing 'boys-without-barcodes' no one knows what it is that Lo - the most subversive of the three - has planned. But in the back of her mind, Gem's worried. She feels the balance of the trio's friendship is always weighted against her. And as the weeks draw closer to Christmas, appearances start to deceive and relationships flounder. For all the promise of the group, Underground seems a dark place to be. It will take great films, bad poetry and a pantheon of inspirational guides - from Andy Warhol to Germaine Greer - to help Gem work out the true meaning of friendship, where family fits in, and that the best parts of life aren't always underground.

YAY for this book. It was this book, Notes From the Teenage Underground by Simmone Howell that first inspired me to begin my Awesome Women series of posts. But I've been so nervous about writing this review that it's taken me months to put into words how much I adored this book.

Our main character is Gem, short for Germaine Greer the feminist writer that Gem's hippy mom named her after. Together with her besties, Mira and Lo, they've formed this circle of non-conformity. And to cement it, they've agreed on a special project, one they do every year. This year feels different, like it could be their last, so it has be big and ground breaking. Something very extreme and 'underground'. Something amazing.

This book is so full of fun. Gem's a pretty big film-buff and is still searching to figure out who she is and what she'd like to do with her life.It's just Gem and Gem's eccentric artist mom Bev, who regularly consults the I-Ching and is more friend than mom.. until Gem's absent father arrives on the scene. Gem's mom and godmother are pressuring her to go to university, but Gem feels like film school might be the better option. Another big concern for Gem, is how she fits in with her friends. She has this uneasy feeling when it comes to her Mira and Lo, who are more experienced with boys and seem to connect better with each other. Gem really wants to feel part of the triangle of friends again.

Gem is an absolutely adorable character. She has such a great voice and personality. She is this mixture of uncertainty and quirkiness. In a kind of desperation to impress Lo, Gem dreams up this fantastic idea of using Andy Warhol as her inspiration and their summer project should be filming this underground film. She asks her co-worker and (would-be love interest) Dodgy if she can borrow a video camera and from there, very interesting things start to happen. As this brilliant film is taken over by Mira and Lo, Gem is able to get a better perspective on life, love, friendship and family.

Reading this book really made me wish that I'd grown up in Australia, with a mom like Bev. I wish that I knew more about art, about films about film-making. You can tell that Simmone Howell has an interest in all of these things, as she's written about them with such feeling and passion. This struggle with growing up and family relationships is something I feel like most of us can relate with. Gem's power struggle in her friendship with Mira and Lo was very believable and felt authentic.

In case you were wondering, at one point in the process of making this awesome, underground film, Gem writes a series of scenes involving 'Formidable Women.' Together with this idea and the image of artsy Bev and the idea of Germaine Greer, I really wanted to highlight some other Awesome women. So a big thank you to Simmone Howell for being my inspiration. This is a wonderful book, it comes very highly recommended by me!

REVIEW: White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick

It's summer. Rebecca is an unwilling visitor to Winterfold - taken from the buzz of London and her friends and what she thinks is the start of a promising romance. Ferelith already lives in Winterfold - it's a place that doesn't like to let you go, and she knows it inside out - the beach, the crumbling cliff paths, the village streets, the woods, the deserted churches and ruined graveyards, year by year being swallowed by the sea. Against her better judgement, Rebecca and Ferelith become friends, and during that long, hot, claustrophobic summer they discover more about each other and about Winterfold than either of them really want to, uncovering frightening secrets that would be best left long forgotten. Interwoven with Rebecca and Ferelith's stories is that of the seventeenth century Rector and Dr Barrieux, master of Winterfold Hall, whose bizarre and bloody experiments into the after-life might make angels weep, and the devil crow.

I knew absolutely nothing about this book before I read it. Only that other bloggers seemed to like Marcus Sedgwick and White Crow has had some good reviews...It isn't something I generally do, reading a book 'blind' but it was fun to do and I was very pleasantly surprised with this one! It was my first Sedgwick, and now fans must let me know where to go from here!

White Crow is a story told from three perspectives. Two teenage girls living in the present day and a religious man writing in his diary centuries before. All three are living in the same small town, Winterfold, and are dabbling in things best left alone. Over this sweltering hot summer, the two girls become friends and uncover some truly frightening secrets...

Rebecca and her father have arrived in Winterfold, a family pretty broken by the events that brought them to the small and isolated town. They're not on friendly terms, compacted by the fact that Rebecca is now separated from her boyfriend in London. She isn't interested in becoming Ferelith's friend at all. Ferelith who is super-smart and sort of creepy, living on her own and not answering many personal questions. Rebecca feels very uneasy with Ferelith, not just with how she looks but the way in which she acts and speaks. But, having nothing else to occupy her mind, she falls into a friendship with Ferelith. And Ferelith knows a great deal about the town. She knows of the abandoned houses and churches. The graveyards and the cliff that is threatening to collapse with the next big storm. Together they uncover the horrific events that took place hundreds of years ago.

Honestly, White Crow was so creepy to read. It's one where I needed to keep the light on or read it in the day-time. Marcus Sedgwick manages to lace each page with unease and discomfort and foreboding. The reader knows enough to realise that the Rector and his French doctor are Up To No Good, but what are they really doing? And what's the mystery with Ferelith? I was left guessing all the way through!

I loved how Marcus Sedgwick touched on some really interesting concepts with this novel. Of heaven and hell and faith and belief with the experiments the two men carried out. Ferelith and Rebecca's friendship was so tenuous and it leaves reader questioning how well do you really know anyone? I loved the relationship between Rebecca and her father, so very raw and painful. And yet neither one was able to find the words to say to the other to make things right. And yet it is terrifying. And beautiful.

One not to miss, folks!

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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme in which people share which books came into their house each week. As ever, it is hosted by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren. All the books listed below were bought new, in charity shops, swapped via a book swapping website, sent via the publishers or authors or borrowed from friends. Links go to GoodReads.


Delirium by Lauren Oliver - Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

I've already finished this one and it is as amazing as you'd think it'd be!

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The Killer's Daughter by Vivian Oldaker - A gripping thriller about a teenage girl’s attempts to discover the truth behind her grand­mother’s murder

Although Emma’s father was found not guilty of murdering her grandmother in Kalos, Greece, the accusation haunts the family. When Emma becomes the target of vicious bullies at school, enough is enough, and she secretly hatches a plan to visit Kalos to find the truth.

I'm hoping to possibly read this one in time for Anti-Bullying Week, depending on my schedule in the next few weeks! (I have since finished it and it is wonderful! Review soon!)

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From Notting Hill With Love... Actually by Ali McNamara - Scarlett O'Brien is in love . . . with the movies. Utterly hooked on Hugh Grant, crazy about Richard Curtis, dying with lust for Johnny Depp, Scarlett spends her days with her head in the clouds and her nights with her hand in a huge tub of popcorn. Which is not exactly what her sensible, DIY-obsessed fiancé David has in mind for their future. So when Scarlett has the chance to house-sit an impossibly grand mansion in Notting Hill ? the setting of one of her all-time favourite movies ? she jumps at the chance to live out her film fantasies one last time. It's just a shame that her new neighbour Sean is so irritating ? and so irritatingly handsome, too. As a chaotic comedy of her very own erupts around Scarlett, she begins to realise there's more to life than seating plans and putting up shelves. What sort of happy ending does she really want? Will it be a case of Runaway Bride or Happily Ever After? The big white wedding looms, and Scarlett is running out of time to decide.

This one sounds like SUCH FUN that I cannot wait.

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The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg - Penny is sick of boys and sick of dating. So she vows: no more. It's a personal choice. . .and, of course, soon everyone wants to know about it. And a few other girls are inspired. A movement is born: The Lonely Hearts Club (named after the band from Sgt. Pepper). Penny is suddenly known for her nondating ways . . . which is too bad, because there's this certain boy she can't help but like. . . .

I've been waiting for this book for so long! I really hope that that doesn't work against it when I do get around to reading it!

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The Bear Necessities of Business by Maxine Clark - Whether you're looking to start a new business, improve an existing one, be a better manager, or hire the best employees, The Bear Necessities of Business contains the insights and information you need to succeed. Even if you work for some-one else and have no plans to strike out on your own, you'll still benefit from the advice found in this book. After all, the best employees—and those who consistently rise to the top—are those who think like entrepreneurs!

Not my usual reading material, but I've read the first 20 pages or so and it's really very interesting. I think they have a great business strategy!

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My Swordhand Is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick - In a bitter winter, Tomas and his son, Peter, settle in a small village as woodcutters. Tomas digs a channel of fast-flowing waters around their hut so that they have their own little island kingdom. Peter doesn’t understand why his father has done this, or why his father carries a long, battered box, whose mysterious contents he is forbidden to know.

But Tomas is a man with a past—a past that is tracking him with deadly intent. As surely as the snow falls softly in the forest of a hundred thousand silver birch trees, father and son must face a soulless enemy and a terrifying destiny.

I've always heard such good things about Marcus Sedgwick and after reading White Crow recently, I'm really quite excited to read more of his books. I think I've checked this one out from the library previously but wasn't able to get around to it. Hopefully I'll more of an opportunity now!

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Exodus by Julie Bertagna - Less than a hundred years from now, the world as we know it no longer exists. Cities have disappeared beneath the sea, technology no longer functions, and human civilization has reverted to a much more primitive state.

On an isolated northern island, the people of Wing are trying to hold onto their way of life -- even as the sea continues to claim precious acres and threatens to claim their very lives.

Only fifteen-year-old Mara has the vision and the will to lead her people in search of a new beginning in this harsh, unfamiliar world.

This compelling and powerful story set in the near future will hit home with teens, especially those who are ever more aware of the increasingly controversial climate crisis we face in our world today.

I do love a good dystopic YA novel and I've been meaning to read this one for awhile.

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I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle - Denis Cooverman wanted to say something really important in his high school graduation speech. So, in front of his 512 classmates and their 3,000 relatives, he announced:

It could have been such a sweet, romantic moment. Except that Beth, the head cheerleader, has only the vaguest idea who Denis is. And Denis, the captain of the debate team, is so far out of her league he is barely even the same species. And Kevin, Beth's remarkably large boyfriend, is in town on furlough from the United States Army.

I hear this one is quite funny. It was added to my wishlist after a review I read over at Forever Yound Adult which is possibly one of the greatest YA review blogs around! I hope this one is as good as they've said!

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Captivate by Carrie Jones - Zara and her friends knew they hadn't solved the pixie problem for good. Far from it. The king's needs grow deeper every day he's stuck in captivity, while his control over his people gets weaker. It's made him vulnerable. And now there's a new king in town.

A turf war is imminent, since the new pixie king, Astley, is moving in quickly. Nick nearly killed him in the woods on day one, but Zara came to his rescue. Astley swears that he and Zara are destined to be together, that he's one of the good guys. Nick isn't buying it, though Zara isn't as sure -- despite herself, she wants to trust the new king. But it's a lot more than her relationship with Nick that is at stake. It's her life -- and his.

Second book in a series where I have the first and third, it seemed logical to pick this book up. Quite looking forward to the series!

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Finding Sky by Joss Stirling - When Sky catches a glimpse of Zed for the first time, lounging against his motorbike at school, she is drawn to him just like every other girl in Wickenridge. But Zed sees something special in her that the other girls don't have. Zed tells her they are both Savants - people with special powers like telepathy and the ability to see into the future. Not only that, she is a Savant too, and his soulfinder - meant to be together.

When a soulfinder speaks telepathically to her partner, it's like all the lights coming on in a building. You lit me up like Vegas. But for Sky it's just not that easy - she's a mystery to herself, haunted by nightmares from her past before she was adopted, and riddled with doubt and insecurity. Just when Sky is slowly coming round to the idea of being with Zed she is kidnapped by a family of criminal Savants. In a chilling twist, Sky and Zed's relationship is put to the ultimate test and the fate of those she loves lie in Sky's hands. Will Sky have the strength to embrace her power and be brave enough to control her own destiny, or will the dark demons of her past prevent her from realising her true potential?

I keep hearing good things about this book, it was recently on a blog tour and sounded quite good.

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I've also picked up quite a few books from the library this week, but I'm a little too lazy to continue with photo/product description structure for them, but I will at least link them:

News From the Dead by Mary Hooper

The Toymaker by Jeremy de Quidt

Noah Barleywater Runs Away by John Boyne

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Particularly excited to read Noah Barleywater and Revolution as I've heard such good things about them both!

And that is it for me. Which books came into your house this week? Have you read any of these books? What did you think and where should I start?