REVIEW: The Elite by Kiera Cass

There's something a little bit exciting about this series.  Despite having issues with some of the rules and relationships involved, I was still really excited to read the next book in the Selection series, The Elite by Kiera Cass.  Because despite how much I'll grumble about how  relationship-focused this dystopian series is, I still read both The Selection and The Elite within a day and I'm still looking forward to finding out how everything will turn out!

The Elite picks up shortly after the end of The Selection. Thirty five girls were chosen as potential brides to Prince Maxon and now only six remain, America included. And America is still pretty uncertain if she really wants to remain in the capital and be part of this process. And America goes back and forth about this decision throughout The Elite. Not only does America question her feelings for Maxon (and her ex-boyfriend Aspen) but she's also not sure if she's princess material or if she could handle making difficult decisions that would be best for the entire country. Being in the castle and being attacked by rebel forces is bad enough, but there's an attack a bit closer to home and perpetuated by somebody that she cares about that leaves America reeling.  And to make things more interesting, America no longer remains Maxon's favourite as he has chosen another that he spends a great deal of time with.

There were plenty of times where I felt more than a bit frustrated by America in this book. She makes up her mind that no, she's not prepared to go any farther with this contest but then she allows Maxon to convince her otherwise very easily even when Maxon does things that goes again America's sense of morality.  She sways between Aspen and Maxon a bit too readily for me. I want her to wake up one morning and realise that she no longer has to define herself and her life in relation to who she might end up with romantically. Instead of her picturing her future as either Prince Maxon's wife or Aspen's wife, I'd like her to picture herself as a strong individual who is capable of chaning things and influencing those around her in a positive way and in such a way that doesn't have to compromise her ideals or her feelings.  I want that for you, America.  Don't settle for somebody who doesn't stand up for what's right and certainly don't settle for somebody who chooses to keep his multiple relationships open-ended just in case but doesn't allow for anyone else to do the same. You deserve a level playing field.

What I really want to see from this series is a move away from the relationship drama including America, Aspen, Maxon and at least two other girls from The Selection.  I get it, she fancies both men and he's not satisfied with just the one girl either but let's move on. What I'd like to see now are more of the perspectives of the rebels fighting against Maxon's authority. More of the history behind this government and the different caste systems was uncovered during this book, what will America do with this information? Time to make a choice that's more important than this evening's dress or who is deserving of kisses. I want to see how change and revolutions happens. Bring it.

Pop-Up Books (Embracing My Inner Geek)

Embracing My Inner Geek is a feature hosted by Queen of Contemporary and enables bloggers to geek out once a week and ramble on about geeky and nerdish things. 

I love this feature by Lucy from Queen of Contemporary in which we are all encourage to embrace and discuss our own geeky traits.  I've decided to take part in this feature once a month because as it turns out, I'm a pretty geeky person! I hope you enjoy reading these posts as much I enjoy writing them.

Last time I took part in Embracing My Inner Geek, I discussed some of the literary artwork that I have adorning my walls at home.  Since then, I've walked around my house trying to see things from a different perspective.  See things in a way that a stranger coming into my home would view my house and my belongings. And that's really helped me to think of different topics for this feature. I have some fun things in store for you... but for today, I'm going to talk about a collection that I haven't talked about on this blog in awhile. 

Did you know that I collect pop-up books?  Not just any pop-up books - I focus on the paper engineering genius of Robert Sabuda and his sometimes co-creator Matthew Reinhardt. I'm in love with them.  Here take a look at (most, but not all) of my collection of their books...

What I love most about these books are the variety of stories and subjects that Robert and Matthew cover.  There are pop-up books there about monsters and fairies and dragons and butterflies and sharks.  There are fairy tales like Beauty and the Beast as well as other popular stories like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and Narnia and The Wizard of Oz. They've covered Mother Goose and Cinderlla but there's also pop-up books about Christmas and Kwanzaa and endangered animals and also fun things like the alphabet using Disney characters as inspiration a counting book with pop-ups of cookies and a pop-up book about famous landmarks in the United States. It makes me really happy looking through these books!

I would have never have started this collection at all if I hadn't been for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz pop-up book that I saw many years ago when I was working at WHSmith. Or perhaps N saw it and mentioned it to me? Either way, in the Ottakar's nearby (before it was taken over by Waterstones), there was a stand displaying this beautiful pop-up book. And perhaps I'll write another post sometime for my love of The Wizard of Oz, but I just couldn't resist buying this beautiful creation.

And later on I saw Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ... and another pop-up book, and another.  Things spiralled pretty quickly out of control as you can see from that photo of my collection.

Most of the pop-up books that I have were given to me as presents.  For a few years there, every birthday and Christmas I could probably depend on N to give me some sort of pop-up book.  And not all of these books are available in this country.  Some were really hard to track down.  I even have two copies of one particular pop-up book because N found me a hard-to-find book and then it was re-released with an added pop-up.  Of course I needed both copies despite 98% of the two books are the same!

Some of the books really surprise me.  I'm not even that big of a fan of the Chronicles of Narnia, but I also can't not have this book in my possession.  I need it and all of these books in a way that I find hard to put into words.  And I'm pretty strict about these books too.  I don't mind sitting with the boys and looking through them together. They especially like the little side flaps that have smaller pop-ups and extra bits of information and stories, but they're not allowed to look at the books on their own until they're both older and until I can trust they aren't going to ruin the fragile pop-ups. And I keep all of the books in their original plastic wrapping as added protection!

I do love that the boys seem interested.  That we can all look at these pop-up books and wonder at how they were put together so wonderfully to pop out like they do.  These books have even inspired us to try making some simple pop-ups of our own, like this very simple Christmas tree.  N and I both made pop-up cards last year to give to each of the boys from us and they loved it.  Homemade cards are one thing, but homemade pop-up cards? That's going the extra mile.  A lot of the Robert Sabuda pop-up books are done in this very simple and yet classic style of using mostly white paper leaving the pop-ups to stand on their own without the distraction of colour or other adornments. I like it.

I could probably share photos with you all day of my favourite pop-ups from these books. I just chose three books at random and opened them up.  I think they're all incredible.  And if you want to know more about Robert Sabuda or Matthew Reinhardt, here are the links to their websites...

Matthew Reinhardt ... Robert Sabuda

So that's it for me today, what do you think of my pop-up collection? 

And as always, like Lucy says, don't forget to wear you geekery like a badge!

Waiting on Wednesday (8)

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Yay! I absolutely loved James Dawson's previous book, Hollow Pike, so I'm very excited to see what I make of James' second book.  Cruel Summer is being published the 1st of August by Indigo and I really cannot wait. Nothing says 'summer is here' like murder, right?

A year after Janey’s suicide, her friends reunite at a remote Spanish villa, desperate to put the past behind them. However, an unwelcome guest arrives claiming to have evidence that Jane was murdered. When she is found floating in the pool, it becomes clear one of them is a killer. Only one thing is for certain, surviving this holiday is going to be murder…

A compelling and psychological thriller - with a dash of romance.

 James Dawson
James on Twitter

Did you read and love Hollow Pike? Are you looking forward to Cruel Summer as well?

REVIEW: Imposter by Jill Hathaway

Oh I really love this series. There's just something about both Slide and this sequel, Imposter by Jill Hathaway that just gets to me.  I love the premise of it which is has strong elements of the creepy. But I also love the mysteries that come up, the secrets that need to be unearthed. And oh, especially the relationships between the characters!  Not just Vee and Rollins but Vee and her sister and her dad and also Vee with her ex-best friend Samantha.

I really love Vee Bell as a main character with all the mistakes she makes and how she feels so isolated and out of control in Imposter. She's been having these dreams in which she experiences her first love dying again and again.  And that would be pretty bad all on its own, only Vee wakes up and she's not in her bed anymore and she doesn't know what just happened or how she got there.  Instead of Vee sliding into someone else's body ... somebody is sliding into Vee's.  But who and for what purpose? 

It had been awhile since I read the first book, Slide, and I did worry that too much time had passed and I would feel lost reading Imposter but it wasn't so.  I picked up the story really quickly and quite easily fell back into Vee's head.  A lot is going on for her and my heart really went out to her.  Not only does she have to figure out what is going on with her sliding abilities and who might be causing the strange things around her but she's also had to confront her growing feelings for her best friend and she's got an estranged aunt who is back on the scene. Vee is not entirely sure that Rollins still feels the same way about her as he did several months ago, especially after spending a great deal of time with his beautiful and cool co-worker, Anna.  And she has her doubts as to why suddenly Aunt Lydia has shown up on her doorstep. 

Imposter was a really quick read for me. The fast-pace of the book together with the ramped-up tension (both romantic and otherwise) made it impossible for me to not read the book in as few sittings as I could. This book has such an amazing cast of characters, a terrifying premise, great relationships and mystery and suspence all crammed into a fairly small amount of space. I absolutely adore this series and I cannot wait to see what will happen next.

REVIEW: Dead To You by Lisa McMann

I didn't really know what to make of Dead To You by Lisa McMann.  I wanted to read it after reading and loving Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy but by the time I managed to find a copy to read I had forgotten what I'd read about the book that had made me so excited.  I think the main reason, and it's not a very good one, that I picked this book up over the hundreds of other books on my shelves was because it's quite a slim book to read.  And a lot of times I mistake fewer pages with less depth, which is what happened with this book.

Dead To You is a pretty simple story. It's the story of a boy being returned to his family after he was abducted from his front garden 9 years ago.  In the past nine years both his family and Ethan have both gone through some terrible things.  I can't even begin to imagine what it would feel like to have a child go missing. To not know what my child is going through, if he's suffering, if I'll ever see him again.

So already my heart is being put through the wringer over this book.  And things aren't improved as things go along.  The family have all taken to dealing with Ethan's loss and his return in different ways and that's the real basis of the story.  This major event has affected everyone's live irrevocably.  There are difficult questions that aren't asked.  There's hovering and panic and worry that won't go away if Ethan doesn't come home straight away. Ethan's younger brother is harbouring deep feelings of guilt but also of anger for what he's had to put up with over the past nine years.

And things are tough for Ethan too.  There are so many expectations -  from his parents, his brother and sister, other family members, friends, neighbours - for Ethan to remember things that happened before he was taken, to answer questions or just be stared at.  Reporters want to know the grisly details of his life away from his family and Ethan can't tell them much.  There are things that Ethan is keeping from his family, the police, the reporters. And his memory of before is practically non-existent and his return instead of being celebratory and happy seems to further be tearing this family apart.

My heart broke for the family in this book.  It's a real nightmare situation to be in and I found myself sympathising with each of the characters in different ways.  I understood Ethan's parents who wanted their child back so much that they stopped asking the hard questions that might push away this already fragile relationship.  I thought Gracie, the 'replacement baby' was wonderful.  Her easy and fun relationship with Efan provided some light-heartedness in an otherwise bleak book.  The ways in which Gracie and Ethan interact with each other just shows how strained and uncertain Ethan and his other family members are together.

And finally, I really got Blake's anger and resentment towards Ethan and ultimately his suspicions. As easy to understand and accept how hard it must have been for Ethan and his parents to go through what they did, it must have been equally hard to be in Blake's position. To be the one left behind to deal with the aftermath.  To carry around guilt for witnessing his brother's abduction. As for Ethan, my heart broke for him the most.  He wants nothing more than to remember the time before so that he can just belong and be loved. 

Everything about Dead To You was emotional to read.  There is plenty of pain and doubt within this family and that uncertainty just mounts further as I carried on reading.  I don't think the book will be for everyone, but I'm glad that I read it...

Jackson Pearce (Bookshelf Requirements)

I'm not a huge collector of books. Most of my books are on a constant stream, both into my house as well as out of it. But there are definitely authors, books and series that I feel is necessary to have on my shelves. And in this new monthly feature, I hope to share with you my bookshelf requirements...(perhaps you'd like to take part? I'd love to have you!) 

Today I have a special guest post from the lovely Kate Ormand, blogger and soon-to-be published author sharing her own bookshelf requirements!  Please give Kate a warm welcome! 

Jackson Pearce books are a must for my shelves. I became a fan after reading AS YOU WISH in one sitting. Her YA book are mostly inspired by fairy tales, but the stories she choses to retell aren’t ones you come across often, making the books all the more unique and special. I have read and enjoyed all of Jackson Pearce’s books and she is an author I will always anticipate new releases from. Here’s why…

 

AS YOU WISH is Jackson Pearce’s debut novel. As I said when introducing Pearce as a bookshelf requirement, I read this funny and engaging novel in a day. It’s an incredibly sweet story of romance, magic and belonging. Viola’s boyfriend splits up with her. She wishes that someone will love her again, and accidentally summons a genie—Jinn. The jinn age rapidly when out of their world, so Jinn is anxious to grant Viola her three wishes and return home, but Viola doesn’t want to waste her wishes and takes her time choosing carefully what to use them for. Soon they begin to realise they’re falling for each other, and then Viola doesn’t want to use her wishes because she wants to keep him in her life, as once her three wishes are gone Jinn will disappear.

SISTERS RED is loosely based on Little Red Riding Hood. I read this book a couple of weeks after finishing AS YOU WISH. The story is action-packed, suspenseful, and a tad gory. Two sisters fight together against werewolves that prey on teenage girls. Scarlett wears a red cloak and carries a hatchet. She has scars – emotional and physical – and will do anything to keep her sister safe. Rosie owes Scarlett for her life. Written from both sisters’ views, SISTERS RED gives us a fierce, loyal heroine, a strong family bond, and a sweet romance.

SWEETLY is loosely based on Hansel and Gretel, and is a companion novel to SISTERS RED. This one is very creepy and eerie, set in a sleepy town in a lonely cottage in the woods. Ansel and Gretchen are running from their past, since their sister was killed by a witch. Their car breaks down in a small town, and they meet Sophia – a chocolatier who runs her business from a house deep in the forest. I love the way Pearce ties the story in with SISTERS RED, and the same mystery, suspense, gore and action can be expected from this title. A deliciously creepy read!

While I was waiting for the third in the retelling novels, PURITY hit shelves. This is a heartfelt YA contemporary about love, loss and sex. It is very cleverly written – Shelby promised her mum three things before she died: to listen to her dad, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. But the three promises often overlap and Shelby lives very strictly by them. When her dad asks her to accompany him to the Princess Ball - a dance that ends with taking a vow of purity – Shelby is torn between promises and must find loopholes to break these vows before she takes them. PURITY is a fresh, heart-warming story with a great balance of humour and seriousness. Beautiful book.

FATHOMLESS is the third companion novel in the fairy tale retellings. This is loosely based on The Little Mermaid. Again, the three books are cleverly tied together retellings with a modern twist, and FATHOMLESS is just as gorgeous as the other two. I loved the underwater setting from Lo’s POV, and the on-land story between Ceila and her two sisters. They each have a gift – Jane can know a person’s present, Anne knows their future, and Ceila can see into their past. FATHOMLESS is action-packed, haunting and powerful.

Finally, COLD SPELL comes out this November and I’m already counting down the months until I can read it! This is the fourth in the retelling series and is based on The Snow Queen. This will be on my shelf the second it’s released!

Thank you so much to Clover for inviting me to take part in this wonderful new feature. I can’t wait to see what others come up with, and I really enjoyed the post on Maggie Stiefvater being her bookshelf requirement, as she is also one of mine!

Kate Ormand is a YA writer represented by Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors Ltd. She lives in the UK with her family, her partner, and a cocker spaniel called Freddie. She recently graduated from university with a first class BA (Hons) degree in Fine Art Painting. Kate loves long walks with Freddie, reading teen novels, and painting her nails.

DARK DAYS, her YA dystopian debut, will be published with Sky Pony Press in Spring/Summer 2014. Kate is also a member of an online group of writers and illustrators called Author Allsorts. You can find out more about Kate by visiting her blog (kateormand.wordpress.com) or on Twitter (@kateormand).

Amber from The Mile Long Bookshelf (Celebrating British Bloggers)

I do love Saturdays! Saturdays mean introducing you to another lovely British book blogger and this Saturday is no exception! Today I have with me the lovely Amber from The Mile Long Bookshelf. I've followed Amber's blog for awhile now and I think she's great.  

If you aren't already, please do follow Amber on all of these different websites... 

The Mile Long Bookshelf ... Amber on Twitter ... The Mile Long Bookshelf on Bloglovin' ... The Mile Long Bookshelf on Facebook ... Amber on Goodreads

First, can you tell me something about yourself and your blog?

Hi! I'm Amber and I'm 14. I'm a very creative person - I'm always reading, drawing, writing or painting. I've had my blog since late 2009 when I realised I needed somewhere to write down all of my bookish thoughts! It's quite a girly looking blog but I review any kind of YA book.

How did you begin being a book blogger?

I was browsing the Internet one day and I'm not sure how, but I ended up on Chicklish. Chicklish is a fabulous book blog run by author Luisa Plaja and I saw that she needed some guest reviewers so I signed up! I enjoyed it so much that I made my own book blog - The Mile Long Bookshelf.

When you're not reading or blogging, what do you do with yourself?

I'm always drawing. Always. When you see me, I'll most likely have a pencil in my hand and a sketch pad on my lap. My mum is an artist and the rest of my family are really creative so I guess it's in my genes.

Which book review are you most proud of?

Ooh that's a really hard question! Well, my most popular review is Lily Alone by Jacqueline Wilson, but I really don't think that's a good review. Hmm! *scrolls through blog to find a decent review* I suppose the review I am most proud of is my review of By Any Other Name by Laura Jarratt.

What has been the best experience of being a book blogger so far?

My best experience was going to see Cathy Cassidy at a book signing in London a couple of years ago. When it got to my turn to go up to her and get my books signed, she recognised me immediately and gave me a hug, and thanked me for writing such lovely reviews of her books! It was an awesome moment.

You can do it, what is your absolute favourite book?

Um. Uhhh. Sorry to be boring, but the Harry Potter series....they're classics!

If you could be best friends with any fictional character, who would you choose?

Emma from Emma Hearts LA by Keris Stainton. She sounds really fun and also, being her best friend, I would get to fly out and visit her in my favourite place - Los Angeles!

Name your top 5 UK book bloggers!

Sorry if I miss anyone out! If you're not on this list, I love you anyway! Lucy from Queen of Contemporary, Zoe from Bookhi, Sophie from A Day Dreamer's World, Ruby from Feed Me Books Now and Kyra from Blog of a Bookaholic.

If you could meet your favourite author, who would you like to meet?

Luisa Plaja because she helped me so much when I first started my book blog, and she's given me some great opportunities.

What would you like to see more of or less of in YA?

I'd like more of everything except vampires - I'm afraid to say I'm not a big fan of the paranormal genre!

And finally, who is your ultimate book crush?

AUGUSTUS FROM THE FAULT IN OUR STARS BY JOHN GREEN! He's mine, readers, sorry...

Thank you so much for these brilliant answers, Amber! I love it when authors recognise us for the work that we do on our blogs, and Cathy Cassidy! How fantastic :) 

What do you think of Amber's answers? Are you not a fan of paranormal YA? Would you LOVE to meet Luisa Plaja? Do you think you'd make an awesome friend to Emma? Do you fancy Augustus? Let Amber and I know in comments!

Where do your ideas come from? by Rachel Ward (The Drowning Blog Tour)

Rachel Ward is a pretty new author for me. I've only read one of her books (the first in the Numbers trilogy) but it was such an emotional experience for me that I've put off reading the other two books because I fear my reactions to them. But I was always going to be excited to read more by this same author... 

And I really loved reading The Drowning by Rachel Ward.  It was unsettling and creepy and also really addictive reading. So I'm very pleased today to have Rachel Ward discussing the inspiration behind her books. Please give her a warm welcome and if you'd like to know more about Rachel Ward or The Drowning which has been published this month by Chicken House, do visit the following websites...

 

Rachel Ward ... Rachel Ward on Twitter ... Rachel on Facebook 

 

 

Where Do Your Ideas Come From?

by Rachel Ward

When I visit schools, I talk about reading and writing and the ideas behind my books and what it’s like being published. I also leave time for questions and offer a prize for the best question. For me, question time is the best bit (I’ve heard the other stuff before.) The question I get asked every time is ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ or put another way ‘What was the inspiration for …?’

I think having a good idea is the hardest part of writing, and also the one over which you have least control. Ideas simply come to you – it’s laughingly close to that cartoon lightbulb moment. Nothing there one moment and then – ping! – I’ve got an idea! I think this might be The One!

The idea for my first book ‘Numbers’, of a girl who could see death dates in people’s eyes, popped into my head one day when I was walking my dog in the fields overlooking Bath where I live. Straight away I knew what she looked like, how she spoke, her background in foster care and her gift. I think there were various influences at play (Philip Pullman’s ‘Northern Lights’, the US television series ‘Six Feet Under’ and my own mid-life musings on death and mortality) but I can’t explain how it all came together to form Jem so fully and solidly in my mind. ‘Numbers’ led naturally to ‘The Chaos’ and then ‘Infinity’. With each book I tried to do something different (Can you change fate? Could you swap or steal numbers and live forever?), but the central idea, seeing death dates, stayed the same.

As I was writing ‘Infinity’ there was a nagging question at the back of my mind. What am I going to write next? Will I ever have a book idea again? I honestly didn’t have a clue what I was going to do. Then, my husband told me a story a friend at work had told him. This guy had been in the US at a conference, and in some down-time had gone for a swim in a lake with two other friends and been hit by lightening. All three survived relatively unscathed, but very scared. Immediately I started thinking about the story possibilities. In my mind, I put it together with stories from the news about ‘feral’ teenagers, who commit terrible crimes casually – for a dare or a bet or just because they can. Maybe I also looked out of the window – 2012 started with a cold winter, a couple of weeks of sun in March/April and then rain, rain and more rain.

Within a few hours I had ideas sprouting like alfalfa in my brain. What if it was three teenagers in the lake? Why might they be there? What happens afterwards? It didn’t take me long to find Carl and his brother Rob, and Neisha, the girl at the heart of the story.

That’s where it started. Ideas come from anywhere and everywhere. They are the product of your brain processing all your experiences, books you read, films you watch, conversations you have or overhear. It’s a mysterious process, but you can help it along by being curious about the world – get out there, participate, observe, listen. And take a notebook with you, just in case.

REVIEW: The Drowning by Rachel Ward

I loved The Drowning by Rachel Ward. I loved the creepiness of the water, I loved the uncertainty that came with memory loss and I loved unravelling these complicated relationships between the three main characters and that this book also addresses the serious topic of domestic violence.

The Drowning is this unsettling story of what happens when Carl wakes up on the bank of a lake unsure of how he got there only to see his brother being zipped up into a body bag. The only other person there who might know what happened to Carl or how his brother Rob died is this beautiful girl called Neisha. As Carl's memories come back to him slowly he's left even more confused about what happened out there on the lake and his involvement with both Rob and his girlfriend. And because we're seeing everything from Carl's perspective, the reader is also left with this feeling of unease and uncertainty about how much or how little we can trust of Carl's memories of the events that led up to this tragedy. 

I felt really bad for Carl.  It must be a horrific thing, witnessing your brother's dead body being taken away.  But Carl also deals with a lot of guilt as he has this feeling that he's played a part in his brother's death somehow.  And he's not getting many answers from Neisha who blows hot and cold with her conflicting emotions.  To make matters worse, Carl's home life isn't the greatest, with his alcoholic mother and their poor living conditions. And because Carl just can't catch a break he seems to be haunted by his dead brother who seems determined to punish both Carl and Neisha in the menacing form of water ... from a dripping tap to puddles and the unrelenting weather. 

I just wasn't sure what to make of this book as I was reading it. I do so love unreliable narrators like Carl but I wasn't expecting this level of creepiness. The idea of some sort of evil lurking in something as universal and necessary as water that surrounds us all makes me absolutely shudder! It was pretty disturbing to read about and I was never sure if things were actually happening or if Carl was breaking under the strain of grief and guilt. 

The Drowning was a wonderful book to read. I rushed through it anxious to know more.  It was fast-paced throughout with plenty of action and suspence and definitely very high on the creep factor!

Interview with CJ Harper, author of The Disappeared

Hurrah! Please give a warm welcome to CJ Harper, author of The Disappeared a dystopian YA novel that was published in January of this year from Simon and Schuster. I really loved The Disappeared, especially the ways in which the main character changes throughout the novel.  I'm really pleased that CJ is here today and I'm definitely looking forward to the sequel out next year! 

To find out more about The Disappeared or CJ Harper please do visit the following links:

CJ Harper on Twitter ... CJ Harper on Goodreads

Tell me something about yourself and your novel, The Disappeared?

I grew up in a tiny house with a big family. I’m the fourth of five sisters, which means I still eat with my arm shielding my plate. I’ve got a daughter (the Ginger Ninja) and a son (Goblin Baby) and a computer-genius husband. There are enough Children’s and YA books in my house to build a fort with. But I absolutely haven’t ever skived off work to do that.

The Disappeared is about arrogant teenage super-brain Jackson, whose perfect life implodes when his best friend dies in a violent incident and suddenly everything changes: his teachers claim not to know him; his records are deleted. Jackson has disappeared.
    Jackson is dumped an Academy where the teachers are kept in cages for their own safety and the only thing that matters more than how well you can fight is the colour of your hair.
    Jackson has to get over his arrogance and learn to trust people he’s always been prejudiced against, in order to discover the truth behind the lies his life has been built on, and he has to do it fast, before the man at the heart of it all makes Jackson disappear for good.

Did you use mood/inspiration boards or write to any particular music while working on The Disappeared?

One day I would like to collect pictures that represent my story, and to make inspirational playlists, but at the moment I find that the best I can hope for when I’m writing, is that no one is playing the recorder or poking me in the ear with a crayon. I’ve become very skilled at tuning out CBeebies or requests for biscuits. Except my own. I’m quite capable of stopping mid-word if I get hungry.

Setting is very important, especially in dystopian novels. Would you say there is a place that has been very influential to you in your life or in your writing?

It probably says something about the interior of my mind that the ‘grid’ that students in The Disappeared are strapped to and the disgusting dining hall with its ‘feeding pods’ are straight out of my imagination. The only setting that was inspired by a real location is the drum-shaped fighting room, which is taken from a school I worked at. I used to fantasize about making the rudest children battle it out like gladiators in there. Obviously, I never actually did that, and any child that says differently has forgotten that confidentiality agreement I made them sign.

What was the first book you loved?

What a great question! See, this is why I became an author, so I could bang on about my favourite books. (And obviously telling stories from heart and all that . . .) So, The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord is probably the very first book I loved. The town has a wasp problem so they make a giant jam sandwich to trap them in. The illustrations are amazing; they made me desperate to have a go at spreading butter with a tractor.

Which author would render you speechless if you were to meet unexpectedly?

Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman or Geraldine McCaughrean. I would be struck dumb. But don’t worry; I’ve prepared flash cards declaring undying adoration, for if the occasion should ever arise.

Were there any particular scenes or characters that you really struggled to write?

I find it takes me a lot of energy to write action scenes. When I’m working on a fight scene I swear it burns as many calories as a spinning class (and that’s what makes my numerous writing snacks totally acceptable). I did actually have to draw little pictures of scrapping stickmen for some scenes. It’s hard work keeping track of where everyone’s limbs are. I keep thinking that maybe in the next book I write, everyone will just sit around and chat.

If you could be best friends with any fictional character, who would you pick?

*Envisages thousands of tiny waving hands emerging from the book shelf accompanied by tiny voices calling ‘Pick me! Pick me!’*
    When I was younger I had Anne of Green Gables as an imaginary friend. She was pretty cool. Other high scorers on my fictional friend list include, Lyra from Northern Lights (I named my daughter Lyra – that’s how much she impressed me), Queenie from Code Name Verity (I’ve always wanted a friend who swears in a cut-glass accent), Rose from the Casson Family series by Hilary McKay and the Marquis de Carabas from Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.

The Disappeared is one of my mostly anticipated books being published in 2013, which book or books would be top of your list?

Gosh, thank you.
    Everything is Fine and Other Lies I Tell Myself by Cathy Brett, Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O’Porter (this caught my eye because it’s set in the 90s – a period I remember fondly, so it had better be good) and I am very much looking forward to the final instalment of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy. Also, I’ve just discovered Jenny Valentine and Sarah Dessen so I will be getting stuck into their backlists.

Finally, what can we expect from you next?

Well, it’s not the washing up so my husband needn’t get his hopes up.
    The second book in The Disappeared trilogy, which is called The Wilderness, is coming Feb 2014. In a ghost-city Jackson discovers a bloodthirsty captain training a ruthless Resistance who are everything that Jackson has hoped for, except for one thing: they’re a bunch of kids.
    I’ve also got a completely different kind of book called Have A Little Faith coming out this August (published under the name Candy Harper). Faith is in big trouble because her head of year, Miss Ramsbottom, seems to think that she is always blowing stuff up and giving supply-teachers radical haircuts. Whereas, as Faith points out, it was actually just that one time. Faith’s diary charts her blood feud with Miss Ramsbottom, and also her attempts to ignore the immaturity of old people, and her quest to find herself a boyfriend who knows how to have a good cheese fight.

Writing Romance by Marie-Louise Jensen

As some of you are aware, my mind has been changed lately by historical novels. Mostly in part by the wonderful books I've been reading by some very talented YA authors. And this is definitely the case for Smuggler's Kiss by Marie-Louise Jensen.  I loved the adventure and politics of this book very much. I loved the transformation of the characters.  The thing I loved the most? This slow build-up of romance. Which is why I'm absolutely thrilled today to have Marie-Louise Jensen here writing about that very thing... 

To find out more about Smuggler's Kiss or Marie-Louise Jensen, please do visit the following websites:

Marie-Louise Jensen ... Marie-Louise on Twitter

Writing Romance

by Marie-Louise Jensen

Writing a love story is a specific technique. There are unwritten rules which need to be obeyed. You can play with the rules, but if you break them, the chemistry can fail. The reader needs to like both characters. If you don’t like them, you won’t care. If you actively dislike them, you are never going to be rooting for them to get together.

That doesn’t mean you can take a girl and a boy, invest them with wonderful virtues and throw them together. That would be dull to read. Ideally, the characters need flaws which make them interesting and more real. If you think about any great literary love interest which has stood the test of time (take Mr Rochester from Jane Eyre for example) will find plenty of imperfections. These give a character a chance to learn, grow and change – an important aspect of romance. I like it if my characters bring out the best and the worst in each other and offer each other opportunities to develop as people. And I like them to show kindness to one another.

The other important aspect of developing a romance in fiction is creating a situation in which two characters – who perhaps don’t warm to each other on first sight – are flung together and are forced to become better acquainted along the way. Alternatively, if it is a case of love at first sight, you need to find a reason or a plot device to keep them apart (think of Mr Rochester again – he is married and socially way above Jane Eyre).

Done well, romance is a hook that can pull the reader right the way through the book; from the earliest pages to the last paragraph. The more you care about the characters, the slower the romance burns, the more tantalising it is. I know all about this, because, for me, it’s often the biggest pull in a story and has been since my earliest teens.

Will and Isabelle are cooped up on board a ship together a great deal in Smuggler’s Kiss. When they do go ashore, they are often involved in smuggling actions together; staging a haunting, smuggling lace, taking contraband brandy inland, walking to meet the ship. These situations give them plenty of opportunity to interact, on a practical and a conversational level. They move from strong antipathy through tolerance to respect and finally love. Isabelle has a lot to learn and Will, who has been through a similar transformation himself, is well-placed to help her see the world differently.

Both are keeping secrets; from each other and from everyone around them. The secrets keep them apart, but they also give them something in common and the slow reveal to one another and the reader is an important part of the romantic tension.

The part of the love story that always requires the most rewriting (in my books at least) is the actual getting together; the kiss. It is really tricky to get right and I often have to write the scene over and over, changing it and trying out different ways of keeping enough description to make it satisfying but avoiding the cringe factor. Luckily it’s an enjoyable part of the story to write. The characters and their love for one another become very real over the many months it takes to write a book and I’m longing for them to get together by the end just as much as any reader could be.

Thank you for that Marie-Louise! 

Which are your favourite couples that experience this slow build-up romance? 

"Why monkeys?" by Richard Kurti

I've been absolutely blown away by Monkey Wars by Richard Kurti. Walker are publishing this book this month and I really do suggest that you go out and find it in your local bookstore or library. It's been the most surprising book that I've read all year. So I'm very excited and pleased to welcome Richard Kurti to the blog today to talk about that question that many people will be wondering about - why write about monkeys?  

If you'd like to know more about Monkey Wars or Richard Kurti, please do visit the following websites:  

Monkey Wars ... Richard Kurti on Twitter ... Monkey Wars on Facebook

“Why monkeys?”

by Richard Kurti

I didn’t set out to write about monkeys. Why would anyone do such a crazy thing? What happened was that writing about monkeys became the best way to tell a story about people.
Let me explain…

My father was born in Vienna in the 1920s, but when he was 16 years old the Nazis marched in. Suddenly life became difficult and dangerous for his family, along with tens of thousands of others.
After a struggle, my grandparents managed to get travel visas for my father and his 12 year old sister, but not for themselves. The family was split up, and my grandparents were killed in the Holocaust.

Not surprisingly, I was brought up with a very strong sense of political morality.
But… there was a nagging thought that troubled me: it’s very easy to have a sense of right and wrong when you are the victim of tyranny, but what if I’d happened to be born into a family that was part of the tyranny?
If I’d been brought up by loving parents who were part of an oppressive regime, would I have had the insight to see what was really going on? Or the courage to make a stand?

When I moved into the world of work, I quickly realised that in a less extreme form, this dilemma was everywhere. Your salary enables you to raise a family, but you only get a salary by being part of a hierarchy; if that hierarchy becomes corrupt, do you make a stand and sacrifice everything for principles? Should your family suffer for your ideals? Or do you keep your head down and just concentrate on being a good father and husband?

A similar thing happens in the playground with all those hierarchies and cliques; belonging means the difference between acceptance and rejection, friendship and loneliness. What are you prepared to sacrifice in the name of justice?

And what about when regimes fall? When the Iron Curtain came down, hundreds of thousands of people who had been vital parts of an oppressive regime suddenly turned into advocates of liberty. How is it possible to turn your principles on a dime and still look at yourself in the mirror?

All these interesting, dramatic dilemmas were swirling around in my head, and I knew I wanted to explore them in a novel, but I didn’t want to write a story specifically about Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia. I didn’t want to write a historical novel, I wanted to tell a story about the philosophical problem.

For years (decades!) the problem of how to do this sat at the back of my mind, until one day I heard about the true story of rival monkey troops that were at war with each other on the streets of Indian cities. It was a light bulb moment – if I went back up the evolutionary tree I would be able to write about all human societies by writing about none of them!

Fired with enthusiasm, I started researching, digging into two very different worlds: I read books about monkeys and books about tyrannies; visited zoos one week and Auschwitz the next.
The two areas seemed to fit together so well, I plunged into writing.

It was only when I put my head up a couple of years later that it occurred to me that some readers might think this was a really odd way to tell a story. But by then it was too late, the deed was done.
Thanks to the faith of Walker Books, now the readers can judge for themselves!

REVIEW: Monkey Wars by Richard Kurti

Monkey Wars by Richard Kurti has been the biggest surprise of the year for me. I'll admit, if it weren't for my commitment to promoting British YA authors this year and also if not for the passionate words of a dedicated publicists, I might have passed up the opportunity to read this book.  And that would have been an absolute shame, because Monkey Wars is one of my favourite books that I've read all year. It's exciting and interesting and I never wanted to put it down.  This story and these characters got under my skin in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time.  That first night after reading the first 50 pages of the book I had a dream about this book.  Because even in my sleep my brain still wanted to go over the mostly violent things that I'd witnessed while reading this book. 

What I love about this book is that we see this war between Rhesus and Langur monkeys from both sides and we really get a feeling for what it's like to be in either camp. Each of the main characters - Papina, Mico, Twitcher, Tyrell - all had such wonderful personalities and voices and different ways of thinking that it was easy to relate to them, and to sympathise with the complicated feelings of loyalty and belonging and pride that go along with the horrible effects of war.

Monkey Wars begins in a really dramatic way, with the near-massacre of the Rhesus monkeys who lived peacefully in a cemetary in Kolkatta until the death of a human causes the Langur to attack the Rhesus as a means of protecting humans. With this initial attack, the Langur monkeys seek to further their own power and dominance by taking further steps against the Rhesus and one monkey in particular seeks to use his own talents in order to gain more and more power for himself within his own community.

While my heart really went out to Papina and the rest of the Rhesus refugees who have to go out into the city and start over with their lives and deal with truly terrifying circumstances, it is Mico who really stole my heart within this book. It was fascinating but also pretty sad to see young Mico transform from the naive, questioning monkey into what he becomes as the trusted advisor of a power-hungry dictator who is set to wrest all control over the Langur and Rhesus monkeys for himself.

This isn't a historical novel at all, but you can see the similarities within these monkey wars to that of Stalin and Hitler.  The gradual rise to power, the twisting of knowledge, the decline amongst the Langur for free-thought, the ways in which things are manipulated to one person's favour. I love also Mico's struggles with his morals. Does he sit back and allow Tyrell to get further out of control or he does he speak out and try to change things? While everything may appear clear cut in what a monkey should do in this sort of situation, Kurti shows how often things aren't as black-and-white as they may seem.

Monkey Wars was such an exciting book. There is a lot of action involved, lots of fighting and dramatic happenings. The chapters are relatively short which further ramped up the tension levels for me. I found my heart beating wildly, always wanting to know what would happen next, especially as I got more emotionally invested in the lives of Mico and Papina. Monkeys, politics and war might not sound like your sort of thing, but I promise you, this book is endlessly fascinating and complex. I highly recommend it!

REVIEW: Parallel by Lauren Miller

Guest review by Hayley

Although I didn’t know a great deal about ‘Parallel’ by Lauren Miller before I started reading I was sold by the claim on the cover that it’s ‘Sliding Doors meets The Time Traveler’s Wife’. Those are both amongst my favourites and in general I love time slip/time travel stories, so it seemed like an easy win. I was still unprepared for just how much I would love this book though.

The premise is that Abby Barnes, a super focused high school senior finds herself on a completely different path to the one she’d anticipated, and all as a result of having to change one of her lessons to a drama class. Of course things are about to get far more complicated once the day after her eighteenth birthday Abby wakes up in a university dorm in another part of the country and no idea how she got there…Abby soon discovers she is living a parallel version of her life, which changes every time her ‘other’ self makes a decision.

Each chapter alternates between the two Abby’s who are a year apart, one is in her last year of high school, the other her first year at college. I find American high schools and colleges fascinating to read about and it was a nice change to read a YA book set in an Ivy League college. I loved the well-rounded characters in this book, particularly BFF Caitlin and Josh one of the love interests. The characters really seemed to develop throughout the book and not just exist purely to move Abby’s character forward.

The complicated nature of the story was handled really well and I didn’t spot any loopholes created to make the story more feasible, it was incredibly well thought out and I found it fascinating. We all know how small events can change the path we find ourselves on but it was really interesting to read about all of the idiosyncrasies that can have an impact on these changes.

‘Parallel’ certainly gave me plenty to think about particularly as a person who likes to plan! It’s a very ambitious debut that really delivers an engrossing and impeccably executed story. The ending was perfect but still left me wanting more. I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone else who is fascinated by the concept of parallel lives and there’s plenty of tension, suspense and romance in the mix.

Sounds brilliant! Thank you so much Hayley :)