Review: The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu

The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu (gifted) - Everyone knows Alice slept with two guys at one party. But did you know Alice was sexting Brandon when he crashed his car? It's true. Ask ANYBODY.

Rumor has it Alice Franklin is a slut. It's written all over the bathroom stall at Healy High for everyone to see. And after star quarterback Brandon Fitzsimmons dies in a car accident, the rumors start to spiral out of control.

In this remarkable debut novel, four Healy High students - the girl who had the infamous party, the car accident survivor, the former best friend, and the boy next door - tell all they know.

But what exactly is the truth about Alice? From the blurb.

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Mini-Review: The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste

The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste (bought) - Corinne La Mer claims she isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters made up by parents to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest, and shining yellow eyes follow her to the edge of the trees. They couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger at the market the very next day, she knows something extraordinary is about to happen. When this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, danger is in the air. Severine plans to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and to save her island home. From Goodreads.

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Review: Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (proof) - Nothing says Happy Birthday like summoning the spirits of your dead relatives.

Alex is a bruja, the most powerful witch in a generation...and she hates magic. At her Deathday celebration, Alex performs a spell to rid herself of her power. But it backfires. Her whole family vanishes into thin air, leaving her alone with Nova, a brujo boy she can't trust. A boy whose intentions are as dark as the strange marks on his skin.

The only way to get her family back is to travel with Nova to Los Lagos, a land in-between, as dark as Limbo and as strange as Wonderland... From Goodreads.

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Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (bought) - HERE IS A SMALL FACT:
YOU ARE GOING TO DIE.
1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier.

Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with her foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

SOME MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH.

It's a small story, about:
a girl
an accordionist
some fanatical Germans
a Jewish fist fighter
and quite a lot of thievery.

ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW:
DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES. From Goodreads.

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Review: Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer

Thicker Than Water by Brigid Kemmerer (eProof) - Thomas Bellweather hasn’t been in town long. Just long enough for his newlywed mother to be murdered, and for his new stepdad’s cop colleagues to decide Thomas is the primary suspect.

Not that there’s any evidence. But before Thomas got to Garretts Mill there had just been one other murder in twenty years.

The only person who believes him is Charlotte Rooker, little sister to three cops and, with her soft hands and sweet curves, straight-up dangerous to Thomas. An old acquaintance was the other murder vic. And she’d like a couple of answers.

Answers that could get them both killed, and reveal a truth Thomas would die to keep hidden… From Goodreads.

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Review: Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer (#Ad)

Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

I was sent this proof for free by Bloomsbury Children's Books in exchange for an honest review.

Juliet Young has always written letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn’t the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he’s trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he’s opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither of them knows that they're not actually strangers. When real life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. This emotional, compulsively-readable romance will sweep everyone off their feet. From Goodreads.

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Review: Lips Touch by Laini Taylor

Lips Touch by Laini Taylor, illustrated by Jim Di Bartolo (bought) - Three tales of supernatural love, each pivoting on a kiss that is no mere kiss, but an action with profound consequences for the kissers' souls:

Goblin Fruit
In Victorian times, goblin men had only to offer young girls sumptuous fruits to tempt them to sell their souls. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy girls?

Spicy Little Curses Such as These
A demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test her curse.

Hatchling
Six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons? From Goodreads.

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Review: The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas

The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas (eProof) - Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.

Grace has Asperger's and her own way of looking at the world. She's got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that's pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn't make much sense to her any more.

Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it's up to Grace to fix it on her own.

Whip-smart, hilarious and unapologetically honest, The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas is a heart-warming story of one girl trying to work out where she fits in, and whether she even wants to. From Goodreads.

Disclaimer: I do not have Asperger's syndrome, and so cannot comment on how well represented people with Asperger's are in this book. However, it is #OwnVoices.

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Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (proof) - Sixteen-year-old Starr lives in two worlds: the poor neighbourhood where she was born and raised and her posh high school in the suburbs. The uneasy balance between them is shattered when Starr is the only witness to the fatal shooting of her unarmed best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Now what Starr says could destroy her community. It could also get her killed.

Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this is a powerful and gripping YA novel about one girl's struggle for justice. From Goodreads.

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Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless by Marissa Meyer (proof) - Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From Goodreads.

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Retellings Reading Challenge 2017: April Link-Up

Welcome to the Retellings Reading Challenge 2017 link-up for April! You can link up your reviews at the bottom of this post. Please note that the giveaway element of the challenge is open to UK entrants only. I have specifically been asked by publishers to keep the giveaways open to UK entrants only. Those of you from outside the UK who are entering the giveaways are being disqualified. I do check. But if you are from the UK, be sure to enter the giveaway!

EDIT: There was some confusion over last month's entrants. There actually was a UK entrant! So the winner of Heartless by Marissa Meyer and Irish Legends: Newgrange, Tara & The Boyne Valley by Eithne Massey, illustrated by Lisa Jackson is:

Sarah D

...with her review of Barefoot in the Wind by Zoë Marriot on her blog Whispering Words! Congratulations, Sarah!

Up for grabs for April - for UK participants - are:

Winner One:



Finding Black Beauty by Lou Kuenzler & Stealing Snow by Danielle Paige

Winner Two:



Twicetold Tales: Fairy Tales for the Real World by Olivia Snowe and This Monstrous Child by Francesca Simon.
Thank you to Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Curious Fox and Faber Children's Books for sponsoring the Retellings Reading Challenge 2017.

Continue reading Retellings Reading Challenge 2017: April Link-Up