Review: Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid (review copy) - One girl could change four lives forever…

Mysterious Leila, who is on the road trip of a lifetime, has a habit of crashing into people’s worlds at the moment they need someone the most.

There’s Hudson, who is willing to throw away his dreams for love. And Bree, a runaway who seizes every Tuesday—and a few stolen goods along the way. Elliot who believes in happy endings…until his own goes off-script. And Sonia who worries that she’s lost her ability to love.

Hudson, Bree, Elliot and Sonia find a friend in Leila. But Leila’s trip could help her discover something bigger — that sometimes, the only way to find what you’re looking for is to get lost along the way… From Goodreads.

Discussion: Why the UKYA Blogging Community is So Awesome

On Sunday, when showcasing last week's First Class Post, I mentioned how I was longlisted for the UKYA Blogger Awards, and just how incredible this is. I am over the moon.

There are 33 UKYA bloggers nominated for awards, but there are so many more of us, and you know what? We're pretty amazing. Yes, I will blow our own trumpet.

A Novel Cover Up: Emma Byrne on Finding a Voice by Kim Wood

A Novel Cover Up is a semi-regular feature that looks at how covers are made. Thanks to O'Brien Press, I have been fortunate enough to interview Design Manager Emma Byrne about how she designed the cover for Finding a Voice by Kim Hood - one of the shorlisted titles for the YA Book Prize 2015. Other than the cover, all images in this post are copyrighted to Emma Byrne and used with permission, and can be clicked to enlarge.

Can you tell us about the cover for Finding a Voice? What do you hope it tells readers about the story?

I hope it attracts the reader in an intimate way to the fragile world that Jo inhabits. If it does that, its enough to get the reader in – to discover more.

How did you come up with the idea for the cover?

I had several approaches (see below) but in the end it was felt that the current one was the strongest for the book and the market. The cover is the first two paragraphs of the book. It is a powerful account of Jo’s state of mind, and gives us a glimpse of her world, her fears and vunerability:

Top Ten A Novel Cover Up Posts

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme run by The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is a freebie, so I'm going to do a bit of shameless blog promo here - hope you don't mind!
On my blog, I run a feature called A Novel Cover Up, where the wonderful people behind the awesome covers we see on our shelves talk us through the process that led to those final covers. It's been quite a while since this feature has graced the blog, but I'm trying to bring it back to life again. Before I do, I thought I would share my top ten book covers I've featured so far, in no particular order.

Review: Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kirstin Cronn-Mills - "This is Beautiful Music for Ugly Children, on community radio 90.3, KZUK. I'm Gabe. Welcome to my show."

My birth name is Elizabeth, but I'm a guy. Gabe. My parents think I've gone crazy and the rest of the world is happy to agree with them, but I know I'm right. I've been a boy my whole life.

When you think about it, I'm like a record. Elizabeth is my A side, the song everybody knows, and Gabe is my B side--not heard as often, but just as good.

It's time to let my B side play. From Goodreads

First Class Post (77) & Weekly Recap

First Class Post - because this post is first class!

Discussion: Reading Pressure

Discussion: Reading Pressure

I want to talk about pressure we put on ourselves when it comes to reading. This is not about blogging or reviewing, just reading.

I've previously talked about how I feel really bad about the fact that I don't read classics. I would love to read some of the classics in English Lit, but I really struggle to understand the language. Put them on TV, and I'm there, but in book form, I just can't get my head around it, and it annoys the hell out of me.

This is something I have come to accept though. I will be getting Sparks Notes versions or similar at some point and educate myself, but until then, I've accepted my limitations. What's bothering me at the moment right now, though, is the pressure I'm putting on myself to read diverse books.

Hold on, wait, let me explain...