Characters Abroad!

Characters Abroad

Not going on holiday this year? Travel with the help of a good book!
I recently finished This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David, which is set in Amsterdam, and it got me thinking about YA/NA books I have read of characters abroad. As Summer is just around the corner, I thought I'd share with you these books set in holiday destinations!

Florence, Italy

One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart - Something is not right with Nadia Cara. She’s become a thief. She has secrets she can’t tell. And when she tries to speak, the words seem far away. In Florence, Italy, with her epicurean brother, professor father, and mother who helps at-risk teens, Nadia finds herself trapped by her own obsessions and following the trail of an elusive Italian boy whom no one but herself has seen. While her father researches a flood that nearly destroyed Florence in 1966, Nadia wonders if she herself can be rescued—or will she disappear?

Set against the backdrop of a glimmering city, One Thing Stolen is an exploration of obsession, art, and a rare neurological disorder. It is about language and beauty, imagining and knowing, and the deep salvation of love. From Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this book! Florence sounds so beautiful, and a wonderful place to explore, but it's also a really poignant story. My review.

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Review: This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David

This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David (review copy) - Kitty dreams of a beautiful life, but that's impossible in suburban London where her family is haunted by her father's unexpected death. So when her mum suggests moving to Amsterdam to try a new life, Kitty doesn't take much persuading. Will this be her opportunity to make her life picture perfect?

In Amsterdam she meets moody, unpredictable Ethan, and clever, troubled Theo. Two enigmatic boys, who each harbour their own secrets. In a beautiful city and far from home, Kitty finds herself falling in love for the first time.

But will love be everything she expected? And will anyone's heart survive? From Goodreads.

Review edited on 4th October 2016 due to Malinda Lo's article, Perceptions of Diversity in Book Reviews. My original review was offensive, due to my privilege leading me to find Jewish terminology jarring, and I apologise. You can read my acknowledgement of my mistake and my apology here. For transparency, you can find a screen cap of original wording here. 

Continue reading Review: This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David

Review: One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart

One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart (proof) - Something is not right with Nadia Cara. She’s become a thief. She has secrets she can’t tell. And when she tries to speak, the words seem far away. In Florence, Italy, with her epicurean brother, professor father, and mother who helps at-risk teens, Nadia finds herself trapped by her own obsessions and following the trail of an elusive Italian boy whom no one but herself has seen. While her father researches a flood that nearly destroyed Florence in 1966, Nadia wonders if she herself can be rescued—or will she disappear?

Set against the backdrop of a glimmering city, One Thing Stolen is an exploration of obsession, art, and a rare neurological disorder. It is about language and beauty, imagining and knowing, and the deep salvation of love. From Goodreads.

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The LGBT Readathon Goals

This week, Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts is hosting the LGBT Readathon, and being such a fan of anything that highlights LGBTQ YA, I have decided to sign up!

I don't have any major goals, so these are kind of rough. I hope to read three books at least, and this morning I started by picking up This Is Not a Love Story by Keren David. Earlier today, Charlie, via Jim of YA Yeah Yeah, lent LGBTQ YA anthology Summer Love, edited by Anne Harper, which I will be reading next so I can get it back to Charlie. I have a few other books I can read for the Readathon, which are:

• I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
• Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler
• Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron
• Proxy by Alex London
• The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson
• The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

I'll also have Black Iris by Leah Raeder, but as it's NA, I'm not quite sure if it would count - but it's LGBTQ, so I thought I'd give it a mention now.

How about you guys? What are your plans for the week? If you've written a goals post, leave your links!

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Discussion: Blogs and Social Networks - Promoting Your Blog

Blogs and Social Networks - Promoting Your Blog

I've been thinking lately about the different ways bloggers promote our blogs.

Social networks has changed a fair bit over the years I've been blogging. I think when I started, Facebook and Twitter were the prevalent social networks in use. Now, it's not uncommon to see blogs linked to Google+, Pinterest, Tumblr or even Instagram.

At the moment, I only use Twitter. I used to have a page on Facebook which was updated with Networked Blogs, but I found it wasn't really bring much traffic my blog's way, so I deleted it. I tried Pinterest for a while, and Google+ for an even shorter time, but I gave up on those, too. I found it became too much work, too time consuming. As things stand right now, I write my review, I post it, I Tweet it, I also post it on Goodreads, Bookbridgr and Amazon. Then I post the link in the various places it's needed on my blog, add it to challenges on other blogs, and email it to the publicist, if it's a review copy. Depending on the book, this can take from an hour to an hour and a half. Without promoting my blog and reviews on other social networks. I do not want to spend any longer on one book, even to promote my blog in the process. It becomes a chore, and seriously frustrating.

Yet I know there are others who do a whole host of things to promote their blog and their reviews elsewhere, and I simply don't know how you guys do it without spending hours on your computer.

So how do you do it? What social networks or other online tools do you use to promote your blog? How much time does it take you? What do you find is most helpful to your blog? And have you tweaked things over time so promoting your blog is more time efficient? Share your tips, because I think I might need to change how I do things, and I'm really not looking forward to the idea.

Thank you!

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Scholastic's This Is Teen #IReadYA Week

News from Scholastic US about #IReadYA Week!


Hey everyone, it’s time once again to celebrate #IReadYA week! Scholastic’s #IReadYA week is a celebration of all things YA! In support of this week, Scholastic will be holding daily challenges beginning today and running through Friday the 22nd. By participating in the challenges, you earn the chance to win some really fun #IReadYA prizes including: #IReadYA tote bags, tumblers and free YA books!

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Review: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot & Axel Scheffler

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot & Axel Scheffler (review copy) - Cats! Some are sane, some are mad and some are good and some are bad.

Meet magical Mr Mistoffelees, sleepy Old Deuteronomy and curious Rum Tum Tugger. But you'll be lucky to meet Macavity because Macavity's not there!

This charming new edition contains original colour illustrations by the award-winning illustrator of The Gruffalo, Axel Scheffler. From Goodreads.

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Mental Health May Review: Panther by David Owen

Panther by David Owen (proof) - Life isn’t going terribly well for Derrick; he’s become severely overweight, his only friend has turned on him, he’s hopelessly in love with a girl way out of his league, and it’s all because of his sister. Her depression, and its grip on his family, is tearing his life apart. When rumours start to circulate that a panther is roaming wild in his south London suburb, Derrick resolves to try and capture it. Surely if he can find a way to tame this beast, he’ll be able to stop everything at home from spiraling towards disaster?

Panther is a bold and emotionally powerful novel that deals candidly with the effects of depression on those who suffer from it, and those who suffer alongside them. From Goodreads.

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Mental Health May Review: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff - A moving, poignant, compelling YA debut, as a 15-year-old boy struggles to understand his best friend's suicide through the list of songs he leaves behind.

Here's what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, his best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs, and a suicide note: For Sam - listen and you'll understand.

As he listens to song after song, Sam tries to face up to what happened the night Hayden killed himself. But it's only by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him that he will finally be able to piece together his best friend's story. And maybe have a chance to change his own.

Part mystery, part love story, and part coming-of-age tale in the vein of Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Playlist for the Dead is an honest and gut-wrenching first novel about loss, rage, what it feels like to outgrow a friendship that's always defined you - and the struggle to redefine yourself. From Goodreads.

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Review: Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort

Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman & Ben Cort (review copy) - Underpants are monstrously funny in this playful picture book from the team that brought you Dinosaurs Love Underpants and Pirates Love Underpants.

Monsters think it's MONSTER fun,
To creep around, all scary!
But there's something they love even MORE,
Than looking mean and hairy!

Monsters around the world have different ways to scare, but they all share a love for zany underpants! Every Saturday night, you will find them in a secret cave, showing off their pants as they dance the Monster Bop, but they have to make it home before the sun comes up. After all, who would be scared of monsters in pants that were stripped and dotted? From Goodreads.

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Review: I Need a Wee! by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet

I Need a Wee! by Sue Hendra & Paul Linnet (review copy) - Alan the bear has a problem. He needs a wee! But there are so many things he would rather do first. Will he make it to the loo on time? And when he gets there, will there be a queue?! Uh-oh... From Goodreads.

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Review: Roo the Roaring Dinosaur by David Bedford & Mandy Stanley

Roo the Roaring Dinosaur by David Bedford & Mandy Stanley (review copy) - This is the story of Roo, a little dinosaur who one day meets a woolly mammoth in a hot-air balloon. The balloon has a hole and gradually deflates, floating down to the ground and leaving the little mammoth stranded. Roo saves the day by giving the mammoth a piece of his precious comfort blanket (his moomie, as he calls it) which they use to patch the hole. From Goodreads.

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Review: Oliver & Patch by Claire Freedman & Kate Hindley

Oliver & Patch by Claire Freedman & Kate Hindley - When Oliver finds a little lost dog he makes his first friend in the big new city. A stunning new book from Claire Freedman and Kate Hindley.

Oliver is finding the big city a lonely and scary place but when he finds a little lost dog he makes his first friend in the city.

The trouble is, he knows that somewhere out there someone is missing the little dog just as much as he is loving having him, So, with a heavy heart, Oliver sets about doing the right thing. A beautifully told story with a lovely, uplifting ending. From Goodreads.

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Mental Health May Review: Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone (eProof) - If you could read my mind, you wouldn't be smiling.

Samantha McAllister looks just like the rest of the popular girls in her junior class. But hidden beneath the straightened hair and expertly applied makeup is a secret that her friends would never understand: Sam has Purely-Obsessional OCD and is consumed by a stream of dark thoughts and worries that she can't turn off.

Second-guessing every move, thought, and word makes daily life a struggle, and it doesn't help that her lifelong friends will turn toxic at the first sign of a wrong outfit, wrong lunch, or wrong crush. Yet Sam knows she'd be truly crazy to leave the protection of the most popular girls in school. So when Sam meets Caroline, she has to keep her new friend with a refreshing sense of humor and no style a secret, right up there with Sam's weekly visits to her psychiatrist.

Caroline introduces Sam to Poet's Corner, a hidden room and a tight-knit group of misfits who have been ignored by the school at large. Sam is drawn to them immediately, especially a guitar-playing guy with a talent for verse, and starts to discover a whole new side of herself. Slowly, she begins to feel more "normal" than she ever has as part of the popular crowd . . . until she finds a new reason to question her sanity and all she holds dear. From Goodreads.

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Review: Sweet by Tammara Webber

Sweet by Tammara Webber (eARC) - He’s the love of her life, but he doesn’t know it.
She’s his one moment of sacrifice in a lifetime of survival.

He was damaged and wild, but resilient.
She’s always been obedient. Now she’s restless.

Home for the summer between college and med school, Pearl Torres Frank knows two things: Boyce Wynn is the embodiment of everything she should run from, and everything she wants to run to. Rebellious and loud. Unconcerned with society’s opinion of him. Passionate. Strong. Dangerous.

And one more trait he hides from everyone but her:
Sweet. From Goodreads.

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Mental Health May Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

I Was Here by Gayle Forman (eProof) - This characteristically powerful novel follows eighteen-year-old Cody Reynolds in the months following her best friend's shocking suicide.

As Cody numbly searches for answers as to why Meg took her own life, she begins a journey of self-discovery which takes her to a terrifying precipice, and forces her to question not only her relationship with the Meg she thought she knew, but her own understanding of life, love, death and forgiveness.

A phenomenally moving story, I Was Here explores the sadly all-too-familiar issue of suicide and self-harm, addressing it in an authentic way with sensitivity and honesty. From Goodreads.

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Movie Review: Blue is the Warmest Colour

Movie Review: Blue is the Warmest Colour - Adele's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks herself, loses herself and ultimately finds herself through love and loss. From imdb.com

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Review: Denton Little's Deathdate by Lance Rubin

Denton Little's Deathdate by Lance Rubin (eProof) - Denton Little's Deathdate takes place in a world exactly like our own except that everyone knows the day they will die. For 17-year-old Denton Little, that's tomorrow, the day of his senior prom.

Despite his early deathdate, Denton has always wanted to live a normal life, but his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. First hangover. First sex. First love triangle (as the first sex seems to have happened not with his adoring girlfriend, but with his best friend's hostile sister. Though he's not totally sure. See: first hangover.) His anxiety builds when he discovers a strange purple rash making its way up his body. Is this what will kill him? And then a strange man shows up at his funeral, claiming to have known Denton's long-deceased mother, and warning him to beware of suspicious government characters…. Suddenly Denton's life is filled with mysterious questions and precious little time to find the answers.

Debut author Lance Rubin takes us on a fast, furious, and outrageously funny ride through the last hours of a teenager's life as he searches for love, meaning, answers, and (just maybe) a way to live on. From Goodreads.

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