REVIEW: Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

I have to be honest, it was the cover of Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis that had me intrigued.  I saw it on Netgalley and horror isn't really my jam but I was too tempted to pass this one by.  And you know what? It's become one of my biggest reading surprises of the year.

Harrow Lake has such a fantastic old-school horror film vibe to it.  Small town, old fashioned clothing, the creepiness in everyday items and places.  There's such a low-key creep factor to it that really builds throughout.  Despite it not being my usual reading material I found it really easy to fall into the story and into these characters.

Harrow Lake is a pretty unsettling place.  A small town that has been cut off from everything, not updated for decades and obsessed with the horror film that was filmed there and that made the town famous.  Our main character is Lola, who is the daughter of the film director who chose Harrow Lake as his film's setting and it's where her parents met, on set. 

But her mum has disappeared and when her dad is brutally attacked, Lola is sent to Harrow Lake to stay with her grandmother in this town that has not moved on.  I kind of loved how Lola doesn't really know who to trust or what to make of her grandmother and those she meets in Harrow Lake.  The jitterbugs in her mum's old room, the puppet in the town's museum, the abandoned sets used for the film all add different layers to how unsettling the book is.  I read bits of the Bone Tree out to my family and they were all suitably horrified.

I think my favourite thing about Harrow Lake, aside from how easily entertaining it is, is that it digs deeper than I was expecting into the buried secrets of their family, into those unanswered questions at the heart of Lola's and Harrow Lake's story.  And for that, I found this book utterly fascinating. 

Just, you know, keep an eye out - Mr. Jitters is coming.

REVIEW: Camp by LC Rosen

Well, how good is Camp by LC Rosen? When I first saw the book on Netgalley, my first thought was 'I love the cover' and I still think it is very eye-catching. Then I saw it was written by LC Rosen and I recently read and loved Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by the same author so that piqued my interest. Then! I found this book is about queer teenagers who go to a summer camp specifically for a safe space to celebrate their queerness and that was it, I was sold.

The premise of Camp is such that readers must know from the outset that things will Go Wrong but I’m here for the journey so that didn’t bother me. So, Randy has been going to Camp Outland for years. He takes part in the summer musical, it’s where he’s met all his best friends and it’s where he fell in love-from-afar with Hudson. Hudson, who doesn’t even know Randy exists because Hudson only likes straight-acting masculine guys. So Randy has A Plan. This year, he’s come to camp with a total make-over. He’s cut his hair, lost weight and he’s trying out a new masculine look to woo the heart of Hudson.  He's even abandoning the musical in order to take part in all the sports activities that Hudson does.  He figures it'll be okay to just have cosmetic changes and it's not that bad because who he is inside is the same and if he stops wearing nail polish just until Hudson falls for him, that'll be okay, right?

Despite the inherent mess that the premise causes, what I loved about this book is the very idea of such a wonderful, supportive summer camp.  I love the idea of this safe space for queer teens who need a place to unwind and have fun without negativity or judgement.  I loved that this book included a wide representation of the LGBT+ community and that Randy’s friends support him but also question him like crazy about this (pretty dumb) plan.  I think that Camp is pretty focused on this relationship between Randy and Hudson but there is also a pretty great character development between these two main characters with each of them learning a great deal more about themselves and what they're about.  Randy's friendship group was another major strength of the novel though and I was living for them calling out Randy's behaviour throughout the book. 

I loved the exploration of toxic masculinity, internalised homophobia, and gender roles. I loved the core message of ‘be and love yourself’ I also loved that LGBT history is subtly woven through the story. Camp is definitely one to look out for!

Mini-Reviews: The Great Godden, The Gravity of Us and Giant Days

The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff

I was really looking forward to reading The Great Godden by Meg Rosoff. I've really enjoyed her books in the past and the description of this one sounded really appealing - a big family spends the summer at their holiday house by the sea - and they're joined by these two boys, one of whom is the mysterious and charming Kit Godden and what follows is this summer of love. Everything about that appeals to me.  Summer, beach house, love.

 I thought The Great Godden was written really beautifully written as is to be expected from Meg Rosoff, and I loved the lazy, summer days and the quirks of this family. But certain elements of the book just didn't work for me as well.

 1) We are never told the name or gender of the main character. The reader, I guess, is left to make any conclusions on their own (as I did) but I don't think this worked very well.

 2) I think maybe my expectations of this book based on the description versus what actually happens within the story were vastly different which hampered my enjoyment of the book. This is more of a problem with me and my own expectations rather than anything within the book? 

 I didn't feel emotionally connected to the characters, to the story or to the relationships throughout. I think I just wanted more.

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper

The Gravity of Us by Phil Stamper was definitely an interesting read! I didn't know much about it going in besides the basics - a teenager with an online following is uprooted from NYC to Texas so that his dad can train as an astronaut for an upcoming mission to Mars and falls in love with another astronaut's son. But there was definitely a lot more to this one.

 There was a really interesting thread of science throughout this whole book and that was a really enjoyable aspect to the novel. Some of my favourite elements of The Gravity of Us included some background information that goes on behind the scenes at NASA.  I really wanted to know more about the dirt and how it's being analysed!

There was also the reality TV elements to the story which  showcased rather unfavourable sides to journalism but also explored some other types of media and attempted to make a point about what viewers want vs. what TV producers think viewers want. It was interesting though I wished the author had pulled back slightly on some of it. Some of it was a little heavy-handed and a subtler approach could possibly have worked better (for me).

On the whole I thought Cal and Leon's relationship was ADORABLE if slightly quick on the uptake. Cal was insufferably self-centred and messed up a lot but that felt realistic too and he at least owned up to his shitty behaviour and called himself on it within the text which I appreciated.

 More contemporary books with science-based themes, please! And more cute gay stories.

Giant Days by Non Pratt

I'm a huge fan of Non Pratt and I've loved everything by her that I've read. I always look forward to her books and as well as this e-book from Netgalley, I also own a signed paperback of this Giant Days. 

I've not read the graphic novels of which this book is based, but from this book it seems as though the graphic novels would be a lot of fun?

Giant Days tells this story of three friends, Esther, Susan and Daisy, as readers follow their adventures in university navigating school work, friendships, hobbies and relationships.

 I enjoyed Giant Days and really related to a lot of it - being unsure of mixing old friends with new, clinging to friendships that aren't as genuine as I'd like them to be, the uncertainty of new things, being away from home. It felt unusual to read a story like this one that explores this new world at university and was definitely a pleasant change from some of my usual reading. I absolutely wish there were more university-based stories.

I think the reason that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd have liked is that there seemed to be threads of story lines that were teased in this book (characters' sexuality, for example) that will probably be explored more in further volumes of the graphic novel and also the second half went into some territory that I didn't feel was relatable which felt jarring alongside all of the actual relatable university stuff.  Still, it was an enjoyable way to pass a few hours!

REVIEW: Here Is the Beehive by Sarah Crossan

Well. I really adore Sarah Crossan's verse novels from young adults and I was excited to read something from her aimed at an adult audience. I was intrigued by the title, Here is the Beehive, and the cover is gorgeous. I think by this point, I might just be tempted by every verse novel going. 

Sarah Crossan has such an incredible skill of creating relatable characters with interesting relationships. And Here is the Beehive was such an emotional journey for me. Already it takes such skill to write a novel in verse, but I was amazed by how many surprises there were in this book, how I really came to know Ana and understand her decisions. Here is the Beehive is about Ana, a solicitor who has been having a three year affair with (married) Connor but when the worst happens and Connor dies, Ana's grief is largely invisible because nobody knew that he meant anything more to her.

 This story is told in the present as Ana is struggling to come to terms with her own grief and complicated feelings about her relationship with Connor but it's also told in the past, so we can see Ana and Connor's relationship forming and the lines that are crossed and the decisions that are made, the justification. Everything is pretty messed up, the exploration of this relationship was all sorts of messy, with promises made, lines crossed, the emotional destruction, the lies, the secrecy, the neediness, the insecurity. 

One thing that really stood out for me with this book was that I loved that as soon as I thought I knew these characters something unexpected is revealed. It felt like there were plenty of surprises in this story even when things probably seem straightforward.

Here is the Beehive was one of the stories that creeped up on me. I hadn't realised how emotionally attached I was until that final quarter of the book where all the heartache just built into this crescendo. Beautiful.

New Additions To My Netgalley Shelf

So, this has become sort of a regular feature on this blog.  I like to closely keep track of the books on my Netgalley shelves and what I need to be reading and reviewing in order to maintain my high feedback ratio percentage.  And I do that pretty well.  But I'd noticed that I rarely remembered to share during my book haul videos (on my booktube channel) the new e-books that I've accumulated over time.  So I'll do that here on my blog.  I hope you find this enjoyable?

The Taste of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles

An incandescent, soul-searching story about a broken young woman's search for a truth buried so deep it threatens to consume her, body and mind.

'Since I blacked out, the slightest thing seems to aggravate my brain and fill it with fire'

These are the things Lux knows:
She is an Artist.
She is lucky.
She is broken.

These are the things she doesn't know:
What happened over the summer.
Why she ended up in hospital.
Why her memories are etched in red.

'The nightmares tend to linger long after your screams have woken you up ...'

Desperate to uncover the truth, Lux's time is running out. If she cannot piece together the events of the summer and regain control of her fractured mind, she will be taken away from everything and everyone she holds dear.

If her dreams don't swallow her first. 

I don't remember where I first heard of The Taste of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles but I love the idea of reading more about mental health issues and ...synathaesia? and the cherry on top is that it's by a UKYA author.  So I'm pretty excited for this one! 

This Book Will (Help You) Change the World by Sue Turton

Protest injustice.
Campaign for change.
Vote for your future.

Featuring contributions from C4 anchor Jon Snow, Avaaz.com founder Jeremy Heimans, leader of Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution Joshua Wong and more, this is the powerhouse guide to politics and activism you've been waiting for.

Award-winning journalist Sue Turton explains the political system that rules our daily lives while also pointing out its flaws - and empowers readers to change the status quo. Disrupt the system from within by joining political parties or inspire change through protest. Either way, this guide shows you how to avoid fake news, triumph in debates and grab the spotlight so your campaign can change the world.

Includes hilarious tongue-in-cheek illustrations from activist-illustrator Alice Skinner.

I saw this awhile back on Netgalley actually, immediately requested it and at the time it didn't have a 'send to kindle' option so I let the publisher know I wouldn't be reading it or reviewing it and I added it to my Amazon wish list instead. Randomly, exploring Netgalley the other day meant that I was able to see that this book now has a Kindle option.  So hurrah for me. I love the idea of this book, I'd love for my young people to be politically aware and do what can be done for social justice. 

Trans Mission by Alex Bertie

Being a teenager is difficult enough, but having to go through puberty whilst realising you're in the wrong body means dealing with a whole new set of problems: bullying, self-doubt and in some cases facing a physical and medical transition.

Alex is an ordinary teenager: he likes pugs, donuts, retro video games and he sleeps with his socks on. He's also transgender, and was born female. He's been living as a male for the past few years and he has recently started his physical transition.

Throughout this book, Alex will share what it means to be in his shoes, as well as his personal advice to other trans teens. Above all, he will show you that every step in his transition is another step towards happiness. This is an important and positive book, a heart-warming coming-of-age memoir with a broad appeal.

Trans Mission was a bit of a whim request, but I like to support LGBT+ stories and narratives when I can.  I like the idea of more trans voices, I'm looking forward to this one. 

36 Questions that Changed My Mind About You by Vicki Grant

Two random strangers. Thirty-six questions to make them fall in love. 

Hildy and Paul each have their own reasons for taking part in the psychology study (in Paul's case it is the $40, in Hildy's the reasons are significantly more complex). The study poses the simple question: Can love be engineered between two random strangers?

Hildy and Paul must ask each other 36 questions, ranging from "What is your most terrible memory?" to "When did you last sing to yourself?" By the time Hildy and Paul have made it to the end of the questionnaire, they've laughed and cried and lied and thrown things and run away and come back again. They've also each discovered the painful secret the other was trying so hard to hide. But have they fallen in love?

I read the article that this book is based on and I've read another book that followed the same concept. Still, it's an intriguing idea and I like the idea of reading more contemporary love stories so I'm sure this book won't stay unread on my Kindle for long.

What books have you been downloading from Netgalley lately? 

REVIEW: Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan was an amazing story to read. I knew it would be.  I've loved everything by Crossan that I've read so far and there's just something about her verse novels that resonate with me on such a personal level.  Something about the way she writes and puts words together really manages to shred away at my heart.

Moonrise is the story of brothers, Ed and Joe Moon.  Only Joe hasn't seen his brother in years, not since he left in his aunt's car and got arrested.  He's now on death row in Texas and Moonrise is a heart-breaking look at how Ed's life and death will be remembered.  It's a book about saying goodbye.

There is such tenderness in Sarah Crossan's writing style. Even when the subject matter is a dusty prison and being on death row.  So even when my heart was cracking open and I felt myself close to sobbing and railing at the unfairness of the world and the justice system that has failed Ed and his family ...I was also deeply aware of the beauty of this bond between brothers and the fragility of life.  I loved going over Joe's memories of growing up with Ed as a big brother, seeing the ways in which his mother and sister and aunt reacts to the news of Ed's arrest.  I even enjoyed Joe's uncertainty of Ed's innocence.

I find this book is really hard to discuss in any meaningful way.  Because it's about so much.  About remembering the small stuff, the moments between family.  It was also about forgiveness and facing about to life and death and finding meaning and beauty amongst it all.  Moonrise was a truly emotional story for me and I very highly recommend it.

New Additions to My Netgalley Shelf

Not sure if anyone but me will be interested but I thought every now and again I'd share with you the books I've recently downloaded from Netgalley. I almost never remember to mention them during my book hauls on booktube, and I figure it'd be nice to at least mention them somewhere. Even if I never get around to reading them (likely) AND I like talking about some stuff just so I feel like I'm being held accountable.  You know? So in writing about these books it might make it more likely that I get to reading them sooner rather than later. We'll see how that goes.

Plus, I always just find it really interesting to see what books pique other people's fancy, right? Isn't that interesting?

If You Could See Me Now by Keris Stainton

Izzy Harris should have it all – but her boyfriend has been ignoring her for months, she’s been overlooked for a promotion, and the owner of her local coffee shop pervs on her every time she has a craving for a salted caramel muffin.

Then her life is unexpectedly turned upside down.

Izzy dumps her oblivious boyfriend, and leaps on the chance to win a big pitch at work. Needing to work closely with gorgeous colleague Alex is an added perk…

But then her best friend has her heart broken, the pitch is way more complicated than expected, and Alex is keeping secrets. Does Izzy have what it takes to help her friend, save her career and get the guy?

I'm a huge fan of Keris Stainton and while I don't read a great deal of adult fiction this one sounds amazing and I've been hearing SUCH good things about it. Funny, feminist ...I cannot resist. Why would I want to? 

There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

One-by-one, the students of Osborne High are dying in a series of gruesome murders, each with increasing and grotesque flair. As the terror grows closer and the hunt intensifies for the killer, the dark secrets among them must finally be confronted.

International bestselling author Stephanie Perkins returns with a fresh take on the classic teen slasher story that’s fun, quick-witted, and completely impossible to put down.

Okay, I'll admit it.  I didn't know Stephanie Perkins was writing something other than a romantic story for her latest.  I saw 'Stephanie Perkins' on Netgalley and clicked it ... then got a huge surprise when I read the synopsis.  Yeah, yeah. I'm sure you all knew of this ages ago but I've not been keeping up with my YA news. Anyway, not the type of book I'd normally read but I'm definitely intrigued. 

A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

Ever since Esther Solar's grandfather was cursed by Death, everyone in her family has been doomed to suffer one great fear in their lifetime. Esther's father is agoraphobic and hasn't left the basement in six years, her twin brother can t be in the dark without a light on, and her mother is terrified of bad luck.

The Solars are consumed by their fears and, according to the legend of the curse, destined to die from them. 

Esther doesn't know what her great fear is yet (nor does she want to), a feat achieved by avoiding pretty much everything. Elevators, small spaces, and crowds are all off-limits. So are haircuts, spiders, dolls, mirrors and three dozen other phobias she keeps a record of in her semi-definitive list of worst nightmares. 

Then Esther is pickpocketed by Jonah Smallwood, an old elementary school classmate. Along with her phone, money and a fruit roll-up she d been saving, Jonah also steals her list of fears. Despite the theft, Esther and Jonah become friends, and he sets a challenge for them: in an effort to break the curse that has crippled her family, they will meet every Sunday of senior year to work their way through the list, facing one terrifying fear at a time, including one that Esther hadn't counted on: love.

You know how when you request a book on Netgalley it asks you if it was the author, cover or description of the book that grabbed your attention? For me with this book it was a combination of the cover, the title and the description.  I haven't read Krystal Sutherland's previous book, I hadn't heard of this book before I clicked on it at Netgalley but I thought I'd request it on an utter whim and hope for the best. 

#NotYourPrincess edited by Lisa Charleyboy and Mary Beth Leatherdale

Whether looking back to a troubled past or welcoming a hopeful future, the powerful voices of Indigenous women across North America resound in this book. In the same style as the best-selling Dreaming in Indian, #NotYourPrincess presents an eclectic collection of poems, essays, interviews, and art that combine to express the experience of being a Native woman. Stories of abuse, humiliation, and stereotyping are countered by the voices of passionate women making themselves heard and demanding change. Sometimes angry, often reflective, but always strong, the women in this book will give teen readers insight into the lives of women who, for so long, have been virtually invisible.

I realise that this choice probably isn't going to be one that YOU necessarily run to Netgalley looking for ... but I'm Native American, so this anthology of Native American voices made me really happy to see. I'm looking forward to it. 

What have you been requesting from Netgalley lately? 

REVIEW: None of the Above by IW Gregorio

I was browsing Netgalley awhile back and came across None of the Above by IW Gregorio.  I'd not heard much about the book or read many reviews of it, but I requested it there and then because I thought it'd be intriguing to read and learn more about a character who is Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) or intersex. It isn't something that I come across very much but I'm all about branching out and reading people's experiences, especially if they're very different from mine.  And None of the Above was very eye-opening for me.

There is a note at the back of my copy of the book from the author that states that the author does not have AIS that this isn't an #ownvoices novel but that they have had interactions with intersex people through their work.

None of the Above is about Kristin, a teenager who after having a very painful experience attempting sex with her boyfriend, visits a doctor and is informed, at the age of 18, that she is in fact intersex. She really struggles throughout the course of the book ...on edge about who she is, her own identity and where she fits into the world again when she had no questions before. Before she was an ordinary teenager with friends, family, a boyfriend and is on her way to university.  Now she's left wondering if her boyfriend will still love her, if her friends will stick by her, if her dad will cope.

There was also several interesting actual intersex people brought up within the book, notably Caster Semenya, who like Kristin are involved in athletics and have had similar issues raised against their gender. But also positive role models who have helped pave the way for more intersex awareness and education.

I found it really difficult to read Kristin's story in parts, particularly in the beginning. The beginning half of the book feels very much like a Mean Girls sort of story as Kristin's condition is leaked to the school, bullying occurs, people in Kristin's life turn away from her.  But ultimately this book is very much a hopeful story of identity and acceptance.

I very much enjoyed Kristin's journey. I love that she finds a community to where she fits in and belongs as well as finding support within her family and friendship circles. None of the Above isn't always an easy book to read but I found it enlightening and an important book to read.

REVIEW: The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas was a book that was talked about quite a lot a few months ago. I kept reading tweets or emails saying how much fun the main character is, how I'll fall in love with her, how others already had.  And I admit it, I fell for that hype. I wanted to meet Grace and see if she was everything I wanted her to be.

I think the thing that most drew me to The State of Grace is that this an #ownvoices book featuring autism representation and that was something that I was very excited about.  However, while I'm sure the representation of autism was pretty good ... I just didn't really connect with the story or with Grace as a character, unfortunately.  I wanted to love the story more than I did. But as disappointing as it is to admit, it was just okay for me.

This book follows the main character, Grace, during a rather chaotic time in her life.  Everything seems to be going well, until everything suddenly isn't.  Things are difficult at home with her father away on a business trip and her mum acting a little bit strangely. She ends up kissing a boy, Gabe, and her sister is going off the rails a little bit.  And Grace has Asperger's and sees the world differently to everyone else.

I think the author did a great job in letting us as readers know what Grace needs in terms of managing her autism with structure and routine because of how overwhelming life becomes for Grace. She also does a great job in depicting Grace's parents.  Her mum in particular bears the brunt of being the person responsible for making things better for Grace but that responsibility comes with its own price tag.  I also really liked Grace and Gabe as potential love interests. Both are a little bit sweet and awkward which makes them both all the more endearing.

I wish I could explain in words better why this book didn't work for me as I wanted it to? It was fairly quick to read, it had aspects of the story line that I really enjoyed. However, that spark that I was expecting from this book just wasn't there for me, personally. But that's just me.  Perhaps you'll love this book as much as the dozens of other readers and their reviews that I've seen.  I hope you do.

REVIEW: Girlhood by Cat Clarke

Cat Clarke is definitely one of my favourite authors. I love her characters and relationships and I'll always be excited to read more of her stories.  Just as I was excited to read Girlhood especially with the boarding school element to it.

While Girlhood didn't quite reach the emotional impact as some of the author's previous stories there is still so much emotion in this book and a lot to love about it.

My top five reasons to love this story include (but aren't limited to)

1) the boarding school element
2) an addition to the first reason is that this boarding school is set in this Scottish wilderness, which makes it that little bit more ...wild?
3) the friendships, which I think is what keeps drawing me back to Cat Clarke's stories
4) the issues that this book tackles including an eating disorder, grief, guilt and also ...gaslighting
5) the diversity of the characters including sexuality, race and differing economic backgrounds.

What even is it about boarding school stories that are such a pull to me and to so many other readers? They're just so addictive to read and the boarding school within Girlhood is no exception. Here are a bunch of girls all living together away from their parents, having this little bit of freedom and independence. And I think the fact that this is a boarding school in Scotland and in this particular location makes it even more fun.  Because of that there are secret caves and spooky nooks and crannies within the building, ghost stories that can be pulled out to scare.

The main character in Girldhood is Harper.  She's come to Duncraggan Academy for a new start.  She's still haunted by the death of her twin sister, Jenna and Harper still carries feelings of both grief and guilt for her part in Jenna's death. But she's found a great, close group of friends and things seem mostly okay ...until the arrival of new girl, Kirsty Connor, shakes things up.

As I said, one of my favourite elements to this story are the friendships.  Harper's friends are pretty amazing: supportive and togethery and you can tell immediately how much they mean to Harper. But you can see with the arrival of Kirsty that cracks start appearing in Harper's friendship group.  But can it be so easy to destroy a friendship?  I'd also not heard that much about gas-lighting before, the manipulative tricks that are employed to cause unease and self-doubt.  I thought it was interestingly done in Girlhood.  It kept me reading and wanting to know more. But I also loved that this is a book not only about the slow destruction of friendships but about building new ones and building on existing friendships.

And finally, thank you to Cat Clarke for writing diversity into this book without having it be a thing in the book.  There are bisexual characters in this book and people of colour but these things are secondary to the main plot line.  I love that.  The only bit I will mention specifically is that Harper does struggle in coming from a middle class background and adjusting into a community mostly made up of far wealthier classmates and friends even though her own circumstances had changed to match those of her friends.  And I found that particularly interesting.

I really enjoyed Girlhood.  It was tense and engaging and I really do recommend it!

REVIEW: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

Oh wow. I absolutely adored A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstom. I had only read the author's debut book, Not If I See You First, earlier this year and I loved that too. So I requested A Tragic Kind of Wonderful based on the strength of his first book.  But when I found out that his new book is about a girl with bipolar disorder? I was immediately intrigued.  Books involving mental illnesses are amongst my favourite and I wanted to see how Eric Lindstrom would tackle the subject.  The result? was this wonderful, messy glimpse into Mel's life.

I say 'messy' because there's so much going on in this book.  It's obviously about Mel and Mel has bipolar disorder.  And while I loved the representation of that aspect of her life, I also really loved that the author explored Mel's life in so much other detail without it being too much, too heavy or too confusing to follow so many different strands to the story.

Because not only does Mel have bipolar disorder (that she was only diagnosed with recently!)  but she's also dealing with the grief of losing her older brother several years ago.  She's fallen out with her previous circle of friends once she was diagnosed because of her fear of them rejecting her but she's got a new set of friends now and she's wondering if she should admit her condition to them or risk losing them like the last bunch?  She's got kind of a complicated relationship within her family, especially with her aunt who also has bipolar disorder and a much different view of living with this illness.  AND! she meets a cute boy through one of the residents of the retirement home where she works. I loved how all the elements of this story are pulled together, I love that Eric Lindstrom provides this great, realistic glimpse into Mel's life, including all of the complications. Real life is messy and complicated and Mel's story reflects that.  And I hugely appreciated that.

Obviously bipolar is something that features strongly in this book.  Something that is brought up in this book which I hadn't seen before is this middle bit of bipolar which is in between the depressive episodes and the mania (the highs and lows!) and I don't think I've seen that written about or explored the way this book did.  Mel begins each chapter by comparing different aspects of her condition (mood, heart rate etc) with different animals and through the four different elements works out what type of state she's in and I found it all to be quite fascinating.  She's also seeing a therapist and I loved sitting in on some of those appointments.  Throughout the book, Mel also brings up her thoughts on medication and her Aunt has an opposing view which provided an interesting contrast.

There are some incredibly emotional aspects of the book that I felt were down to the great characterisation and also the great relationships.  In particular, I loved Mel's relationship with her aunt just because they're so different and it was interesting to me to see two people with bipolar but had such wildly differing experiences and opinions on how to deal with this disorder.  I also loved David, the love interest.  There's a great mini-story line that includes a toxic relationship which I found intriguing but I think my favourite relationships, by far, included Mel's relationships with the people that she works with in the retirement home. Silver Sands retirement home had some wonderful characters and Mel's friendship with retired psychiatrist, Dr. Oswald had me in tears.

This is such a wonderful book.  I loved so many elements of this book that I feel like I could talk endlessly about this book.  But I won't. I will just recommend it very highly!

New Additions to My Netgalley Shelf

So, you'll remember that earlier this month I set myself a Netgalley reading challenge in order to clear down the 10 books I had on my Netgalley shelf.  I didn't end up doing a wrap-up post of that challenge, but I managed to read 7 of the books on my list, I DNF'd another which left me at the end of the challenge with two e-books left still to read: 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster (an adult book and seemingly 1000 pages long which is why I keep putting it off!) and also Flight of A Starling by Lisa Heathfield, which I didn't read because the last book by her that I read (Paper Butterflies!) was such an emotional punch to the gut that I didn't read another thing for a literal month after I'd finished it.  So sure, I'm a little nervous about starting another book by her!

So, I'm pretty pleased with that result, to be honest.  I have a great review percentage ratio (94%) and I feel like two books on my shelf is pretty manageable ... so of course I've been requesting more Netgalley books to make up for all the progress I've made lately.  And just to keep myself accountable, I thought I'd share with you here the new books to my Netgalley shelf in the hopes that by admitting them, I'll get them read sooner rather than later. We shall see if this plan works.  If not, here are three amazing sounding books that I really recommend you request on Netgalley if you already haven't.  Or look out for them when they're published in August/September!

Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls (7th September, Andersen)

Through rallies and marches, in polite drawing rooms and freezing prison cells and the poverty-stricken slums of the East End, three courageous young women join the fight for the vote.

Evelyn is seventeen, and though she is rich and clever, she may never be allowed to follow her older brother to university. Enraged that she is expected to marry her childhood sweetheart rather than be educated, she joins the Suffragettes, and vows to pay the ultimate price for women's freedom.

May is fifteen, and already sworn to the cause, though she and her fellow Suffragists refuse violence. When she meets Nell, a girl who's grown up in hardship, she sees a kindred spirit. Together and in love, the two girls start to dream of a world where all kinds of women have their place.

But the fight for freedom will challenge Evelyn, May and Nell more than they ever could believe. As war looms, just how much are they willing to sacrifice?


I'm not even always that keen on historical fiction like this should be and I've always thought of Sally Nicholls as a writer for younger teens/MG and this looks older, so that's interesting.  I just cannot pass up a suffragette story, especially not a suffragette story with two girls in love. I am so here for that kind of story. 

A Change Is Gonna Come by Various (10 August, Stripes)

Featuring top Young Adult authors alongside a host of exciting new talent, this anthology of stories and poetry from BAME writers on the theme of change is a long-overdue addition to the YA scene. Contributors include Tanya Byrne, Inua Ellams, Catherine Johnson, Patrice Lawrence, Ayisha Malik, Irfan Master, Musa Okwonga and Nikesh Shukla.

Plus introducing four fresh new voices in YA fiction: Mary Bello, Aisha Bushby, Yasmin Rahman and Phoebe Roy.


I've been excited about this book right from the beginning. I was amongst many at the beginning of the year who were bemoaning the lack of authors of colour being published here in the UK.  More so needs to be done but I really applaud Stripes Publishing for championing this book and giving these established authors as well as a new crop of young, unpublished authors this platform.  Plus, that is a wonderful, eye-catching cover that I adore. Heart eyes. 

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan (7th September, Bloomsbury)

'They think I hurt someone. 
But I didn't. You hear?
Coz people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.'

Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.

But now Ed's execution date has been set, and Joe is determined to spend those last weeks with him, no matter what other people think ...

From one-time winner and two-time Carnegie Medal shortlisted author Sarah Crossan, this poignant, stirring, huge-hearted novel asks big questions. What value do you place on life? What can you forgive? And just how do you say goodbye?

I requested Moonrise before I even read what the synopsis is about.  Because Sarah Crossan is just one of those authors that I trust to deliver a well-written, emotional story.  And now that I DO know what this book is about? I'm all set for my heart to get trampled over. Bring it. 

What exciting books have caught your eye lately?

REVIEW: The Jungle by Pooja Puri

The Jungle by Pooja Puri was a really interesting read. It felt difficult to read at times but I also felt like it needed to be read.  Because this is a book about the Calais refugee camp.  And as we follow the main character, Mico, through his day-to-day struggles we get a heartbreaking glimpse into the lives and experiences of the refugees.

There wasn't much of a plot to The Jungle.  But I'm not sure it matters so much.  At the heart of the book is 16 year old Mico, who left his family and home in the search of something better, opportunities not available to him in his home country.  And what he finds is The Jungle. He's one of the youngsters of the camp, with no adults to protect him but he does end up sharing a tent with two adult men and the three of them do share food and look out for each other.

You get a good sense whilst reading The Jungle of what life is like in this refugee camp.  There are a lack of resources, the living conditions aren't great, there are too many people. There's almost a sense of hopelessness, a sense of resignation.  But there's also a spark there, a fire.  Mico is dead-set on finding away out of this camp.  And he'll try just about anything to be free.  At the start of the novel he's attempting to steal from the 'Ghost Men' who control more than they should of the movements of people within The Jungle.  Further along in the story, he attempts a deadly jump onto a moving train.  But it's the arrival of Leila and the subsequent friendship between her and Mico that really builds Mico's hope.

This book was definitely a difficult book to read. But I think my favourite aspect of the story is that through Mico's travels he comes across many different people all in the same situation.  With different backgrounds and all with their own stories to tell, with their own terrors and traumas that they're faced with.  And I thought it was important to be present and read such stories. Though the Calais Refugee Camp has since been shut down and the refugees have been resettled elsewhere this is still a very topical issue and concern across many countries.  And more needs to be done.

REVIEW: When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Never was there a more adorable book than When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon. I heard it would be cute ...but until I read it I didn't quite believe it could be as cute as it was.  Believe the hype on this one, it really is hugely adorable.

I think the thing that really hooked me into reading this book is ... how on earth are they going to sell an arranged marriage in this day and age as something relevant?  I usually think of arranged marriages as something kind of outdated, something our parents might have done (and N's parents did have an arranged marriage!) So I thought Sandya Menon really had her work cut out for her trying to make Dimple and Rishi and the idea of an arranged marriage between two teenagers in the 21st century fit into this fun contemporary YA story believable.  And I'm absolutely sure that it was managed!  I just ...fell utterly and entirely in love with this story and I'm so glad that I've read it.

So this story is about Dimple, an Indian American girl in the summer before university who is about to head off to a summer programme for coders.  Her parents don't really get her and she's so shocked and surprised that they're so accepting of this summer programme but Dimple is just so grateful and relieved to be going to it that she just takes her parents' approval all kind of at face-value. ...Until she meets Rishi. And it all falls into place.  Because Rishi is the epitome of a Good Indian Husband that Dimple's mom keeps hinting at.  And when Rishi proposes there and then, Dimple reckons this summer couldn't get any worse...

I love, love, love this story. I'm not sure that I can convey that enough.  Because I love Dimple.  She's so driven and ambitious and she's working so hard to go against what she thinks is her parents' outdated concepts of being a woman and wearing make-up and needing a man in her life.  She's gone to this summer programme with the intention of winning and meeting her idol and getting a head start on what she really wants out of life: independence and a career she's passionate about. But ...being partnered with Rishi on a project means spending more time with him and realising that there's more to him than just being her mother's idea of Good Husband Material.

And I think Rishi is the highlight of the book for me.  He's definitely a bit of an enigma at first. He's really into the idea of an arranged marriage, and has traditional ideas of what he wants out of life.  But he's also kind and funny and says the most amazingly sarcastic things to people in such a friendly manner that it can be a bit misleading.  You can tell he wants to please his parents and his family and I love that with Dimple's influence Rishi is able to see that there are things he wants for himself too rather than remaining down the practical routes his parents have laid out for him.

This book was ridiculously cute.  It was funny, it was sweet and romantic. I loved the build-up in this relationship between Dimple and Rishi. I love that it's very much a romance story but also has a great stance on gender and culture and privilege.  All my love for this book!

REVIEW: Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse

I was really looking forward to reading Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse. About a girl who has just one more week of living in Tokyo before moving back the US for good. In that time she falls out with her friends, works out some family issues, falls in love and says good bye to a city she adores.

I'm a huge fan of Japan and I was always going to be excited to read a book which felt like it might be a love letter to Tokyo ... and Seven Days of You definitely did feel like that at times.  I loved reading about Sophia and her friends traipsing around Tokyo, hanging out, seeing the sights, visiting their favourite places one last time.  I kind of loved them travelling around on public transit and stopping in convenience stores to pick up their favourite Japanese snacks and stuff. It was all so mundane but those details were what I loved the most.

I found it slightly weird that none of them seemed to speak Japanese and none of the characters were Japanese at all? Minor quibble though, I suppose but it just felt like ...is this realistic, or nah?

I particularly liked the family strife. With the dad in Paris and having another family and the back and forth about whether or not Sophia would live with him.  Also, Sophia's sister is definitely a highlight for me.  But I think the main emotional thrust to the story revolves around the romantic dramas.  With Sophia's unrequited crush on David and this thing that resurfaces once former friend and crush, Jamie comes back to Japan.

I really did enjoy this book ... but for whatever reason, the way it was written? my own personal preference? I didn't feel myself being as emotionally affected to the highs and lows of this story.  I wanted to be fully on board with everything that happened and riding that emotional wave along with Sophia ... I just wasn't.  Still, solid read.

REVIEW: Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley

Robin Talley is one of those authors where I read one amazing book by her, Lies We Tell Ourselves, and then got increasingly excited for anything she writes after that (I have two more of her books unread on my shelves that I bought almost without knowing the premise of the stories). And while there are definitely elements of Our Own Private Universe that I really, really loved ... there were also elements to this story that I really didn't.

Our Own Private Universe is set during the summer in Mexico. The main character, Aki, is spending the summer with her youth church group doing odd jobs for a community in Mexico. She's sort of hoping that this summer is the summer that Aki will stop living hypothetically and will start actually living. Including putting to the test her own bisexuality. Which she feels is the right label for her ... but how does she really know without ever kissing a girl? or anything else?

Let's start with the things I didn't quite love first... I didn't much care for the characters or their interactions with each other. Mainly the three main characters, Aki and her best friend, Lori and Aki's love interest for the summer, Christa.  I felt like there was so much ...pettiness and arguing and keeping secrets and just needless drama then there needed to be. I felt weighed down by it in the end. The ridiculous lies told, the keeping of important truths.  All three of them were guilty of it and I'm not sure how necessary it was? Sure, every story needs conflict but was this just over the top conflict for the sake of having conflict?  I can't tell. But all this extra drama also made me question the ages of these girls. They felt much younger which made me feel uncomfortable. Shame this was quite pervasive throughout the story.

Moving on.  What I did love, I really loved, as I said.  The first is the exploration of Aki's sexuality.  I've never read a YA book that discussed safe sex practices amongst lesbians in the way Our Own Private Universe did.  And then (slight spoiler alert) to have a character educate herself on the risks involved in lesbian sex, obtain dental dams and rubber gloves, and then use them was pretty exceptional to me. It felt important and worthy to see this carried out and being discussed.

I also loved the exploration of faith within a multicultural environment and the ways in which teenagers in general combine their own faiths with that of sexuality in particular. One of the things that is brought up and is a very main story line are quite political discussions that are being brought up amongst the church community to agree on.  And I loved that quite a lot of this story line revolves around the political engagement of young people on a vast array of socially important subjects from same sex marriage to armed police, war, and health care in struggling nations such as Mexico.  I loved seeing how passionate everyone got and it really made my heart soar to see so many teenagers rally around these subjects and want their voices to be heard, wanting to educate about certain topics.  The youth will save us.

So all in all, kind of a mixed bag on this one. I wanted to love it more than I did but felt letdown by the childishness and dramatics of the main characters. BUT! there was enough amongst the rest of the story to keep me reading. And perhaps, who knows? You might enjoy it too.

REVIEW: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord

I had high hopes for reading The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord. Especially after reading her previous book, When We Collided last year and loving it.  Usually high expectations usually leave me a little wary for starting a book ... but I jumped straight in with this one. And I'm pretty sure it'll end up being one of my favourite books of the year.

I just felt like there were so many elements to this story that I loved so much. I loved the main character, Lucy. I loved her relationship with her parents (but especially her mother). I loved the aspect of faith that is brought up in the book and also the stereotypes that are smashed. I loved that this book is primarily set at summer camp (summer camp!) and the levels of diversity that appear (race, sexuality, gender, mental illness, differing economic backgrounds and experiences).  I loved the friendships, the romantic elements of it. I just had tears right up to the end and I could have read Emery Lord's words and Lucy's story for far longer if I could.

Lucy herself is pretty great. There's so much growth going on with her in this book.  She starts off being a little ...rigid in who she is. A schedule, a plan. A perfect boyfriend, a summer planned at religious camp with her parents.  But then Lucy's mother's cancer reappears and Lucy's life is completely shaken up.  Her faith is tested and her mom asks Lucy to be a counsellor at a camp for troubled teens this summer and Lucy cannot refuse her mom anything. Plus, her boyfriend 'pauses' their relationship for the summer.

So begins this momentous summer. I love that Lucy is very much sheltered at the beginning of this book and her privilege has kept her so.  I even love that she shows off some of her judgey ways like when confronted with a teen girl at this new camp who is pregnant and ...Lucy has all her pre-conceived notions handed back to her throughout the course of the story. I also loved the other counsellors and how much passion they put into caring for the campers, doing what's right by them, fighting for their corners.

I was amazed by how emotional this story is.  With the cancer, but also other family secrets. The agony of falling in love, finding that circle of friends where you belong and be accepted, the stories of the campers.  I truly loved this book.

REVIEW: One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton

I downloaded One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton off Netgalley awhile back and after mentioning it on Twitter, I got a message from the author. She very kindly informed me that One Italian Summer is very much a book about grief and she knew of the losses I've faced this year.  But when I finally sat down to tackle some of my Netgalley reading this year ... this is the book that I gravitated towards anyway.  I think I wanted to read a book about loss and grief, if only to see if these characters felt at all like how I felt.  It felt like there could be comfort in that as well as heartbreak.

And you know what? I really loved this book.  It is a book about loss and grief. It's a book about struggling to move on from it.  It's also a book  about sisters and kissing and it's set in Italy and is about figuring out important life stuff.  I liked how it was about all of that.  Plus, it just felt like a comfort.  The main character in One Italian Summer is Millie. She's got two sisters, Leonie and Elyse and their dad died the previous year. They're all headed off to Italy where they have so many memories and family history involving their dad and the entire family are dealing with his death in their own ways.

I loved Millie and her sisters. They felt so real to me. The way they bicker with each other, the way Leonie is pretty gross. The closeness, the teasing, the secrets. I think I'll always love books involving sisters, which is sort of weird as I don't have sisters of my own. But I feel like if I did, they'd be like these three girls.  My only sort of complaint about the book though is that I couldn't actually tell until much later in the book how old each of the girls were until it specifically mentions it halfway to three quarters of the way through. Sometimes it felt like Leonie and Elyse were maybe twins? Sometimes it felt like Leonie was way younger than the other two and I had to keep readjusting my mental image of them all when I came across new scraps of information regarding age.

In terms of the grief aspects of the book, I kind of loved that this book is set a year after their dad dies. So often stories like this are told sooner when the loss is more sudden, the grief more raw. But I liked that the sisters' feelings are a year old. And still painful, still able to cause heartache. It's a year on and Millie's mum is still kind of vacant and using work to hide from facing up to her feelings. There were things said about their dad that made me hurt.  The silly little stories they remembered, the made-up words, the special moments shared between them all. The not wanting to let go. They end up talking to people that their dad knew before and one of the girls gets all excited about a story that isn't very exciting ... but it's something new that they didn't know before. And I completely relate to that feeling. I know what that excitement is like.

I also, of course loved Millie's complicated relationship with Luke. Someone she had history with from the previous summer and now they're both thrown together in the same place and don't know what to do about each other. I loved that delicious awkwardness at first, that underlying embarrassment together with yearning anyway. And Italy! How have I not mentioned Italy as yet?! Italy has to be one of my favourite places ever and reading about Rome and Positano made me want to visit all over again.

I'm sorry for the scattiness of this review. I'm out of practice. But if you couldn't tell, I did love this book. And I very much recommend it.

Netgalley Reading

I've documented on this blog for awhile my struggles with Netgalley. How I've come back from a 14% feedback ratio up to (the suggested feedback ratio) 80% using my own brand of rules and guidelines.  Two years on from that surprisingly wildly successful blog post, my rules and guidelines for myself has been successful. I'm currently at a 91% feedback ratio with 10 titles on my shelf unread and therefore not reviewed.

 Because I'm in an almighty blogging and reading slump since the many losses that have occurred over the last few months, I'll try anything to find that hook back into doing the things I love.  And as I have had success recently with Netgalley reading... I've recently read The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord, Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley and When Rishi Met Dimple by Sandhya Menon that I really enjoyed ... I thought that I would continue that streak and aim to clearing my Netgalley shelf entirely by the end of the month.  10 titles might be a bit much with the reading slump that I've been in but why not set myself a challenge, right?

Here is the list of potential reads for me in June:

Coming Up For Air by Miranda Kenneally
One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton
Girlhood by Cat Clarke
The Jungle by Pooja Puri
Flight of A Starling by Lisa Heathfield
None of the Above by IW Gregorio
The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas
A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (DNF)

I'm leaving the bottom two books, the only adult books on my list until the last, despite Paul Auster being one of my favourites (it's a really chunky book!) and the Colson Whitehead book sounding really interesting and trying to focus more on the YA books, especially as I'm hoping that this mini-reading challenge will also kick-start some blogging this month as well.

I'm most nervous about reading One Italian Summer by Keris Stainton because I know it deals with the death of a loved one that and is something particularly hard for me right now having lost two people who meant a great deal to me in a very short period of time. But we shall see!  I'm also aware that there are 5 UKYA authors on my list so maybe it'd be a good idea to start with those four? To tie in with my British Books Reading Challenge this year too? Oh I don't know.  Wish me luck though.

How are you with Netgalley? Have you read any of the titles on my June TBR? Where do you think I should start?

REVIEW: The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr was ... a very different read.  It was unexpected.  And I definitely think that how different I thought this book would be is the reason that I was so attracted to reading it in the first place.  And while I did like it, I wasn't entirely blown away by the story of by Flora Banks. But I wanted to be.

This is the story of Flora Banks, 17, and she is someone who has anterrograde amnesia, which means that she has no permanent memories before 7 years ago when she was in an accident.  She can only hold new information in her head for a very short period of time, at the most several hours.  So to get by, she writes notes on her arms and post-it notes, takes pictures on her phone, writes in a diary etc filling herself in on the events and important stuff between then and now. She's on medication, she's well looked after by her parents and her best friend. We meet Flora at a party, her hands say 'Be brave' and she goes onto leave the party and kisses a boy on a beach.  Unfortunately it happens to be Flora's best friend's boyfriend who she kisses but the thing to be taken from that night is that Flora remembers the boy, she remembers the kiss, the beach, all the details of that interaction.

The thing with her memory though means that as the narrator to this story, Flora loses a lot of information.  Which she then relearns shortly after and that makes Flora's story really quite repetitive in parts which felt grating in the middle.  I also found Flora's voice to be hard and factual which made it difficult for me to warm to her. I also wasn't thrilled with the idea of her chasing down a boy with her 'this boy will save me' thoughts but I felt like that was at least handled towards the end.  The only relationship I wanted to explore more (as I didn't love Drake with the same fervour as Flora!) is the one with Jacob, her brother.  This book needed more Jacob, in my opinion.

I think the thing in particular that I loved the most about Flora is that she is courageous.  She really takes that 'Be Brave' on her hand to heart and instead of cowering indoors where she knows she'll be safe, she continuously tries to do different things, change herself, her circumstances and her life.  Going so far as trying to track her brother, Jacob, down, as far as experiencing new things and tracking a boy down to the Arctic in order to find out more answers about why this kiss stuck in her head when other memories did not. I loved that about her.  I wish more people were a little bit more Flora.

This book was a definitely interesting read. I'm glad to have to read it, I just wish things had been slightly different.

This book was read and counts towards the British Books Challenge 2017.