Aneesa Marufu on the South Asian and Islamic Folklore that Inspired The Balloon Thief

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The Tunnels Below Blog Tour - Nadine Wild-Palmer: The Books I Grew Up With

It's my stop on the blog tour for The Tunnels Below by Nadine Wild-Palmer, and I'm really excited to have debut UKMG author Nadine stopping by to share with us a guest post about the books she read when she was growing up.

The Books I Grew Up With

"It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like as long as somebody loves you." The Witches, Roald Dahl.

I still can’t read the closing chapters of Roald Dahl’s The Witches without bursting into tears. After all the thrilling, gorey adventures of in the story it’s the winding down of the closing chapters that still make my heart ache. A good book, a really good book, ends well. You can feel that it is finishing and that you have to say goodbye to characters you have spent several hours or days or, for me, in some cases years with and you are filled instantly with a feeling of nostalgia. The best writing will throw you right back to that place and the feelings you felt the first time you read it, if you were to open the book right here right now.

Friday, 28 December 2018

guest post, laure eve, the curses, the graces, the graces duology

Guest Post: Laure Eve On Her Magical Inspiration For The Curses

07:00 Jo 7 comments

Today, I'm thrilled to have Laure Eve, the author of The Graces and it's forthcoming companion novel, The Curses, stopping by the blog today with a guest post! Here, Laure discusses her inspiration for the magic and witchcraft in mesmerising duology.

When I was a kid, I went to a Roman Catholic primary school run by nuns. Candidly, it was less because my mother was particularly Catholic and more because that particular school offered one of the best educations around.

Here’s the thing, though - it was also a Cornish school.

Underneath the pasties and the cream teas and the quaint fishing villages, Cornwall has a wildness to it. A feeling that something bigger, and older, and more powerful than you moves underneath your feet. Nature is right there - in the sea storms that spring up any time of the year and batter the coastal towns, in the windswept moors and dunes on your doorstep, in the gnarled woods and the dark caves and the craggy, dangerous cliff tops.

Tuesday, 11 December 2018

#ownvoices, blog tour, book recommendations, diverse books, guest post, lesbian, lgbtq, lgbtq ya, pulp, robin talley

PULPStories Tour: Robin Talley's LGBTQ* YA Recomendations

Today is my stop on the #PULPstories Tour, the blog tour for Robin Talley's latest novel, Pulp, which was published on 16th November! Robin is stopping by the blog with a guest post, recommending a number of LGBTQ* YA novels.

Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram. This story, about a 15-year-old Iranian-American boy on his first-ever trip to Iran where he quickly becomes close friends with a very intriguing local boy, might be my favorite read of 2018, and that’s saying a lot. Darius is smart, hilarious, and misunderstood by pretty much everyone around him, and I would happily read 50 Darius sequels if it meant I got to spend more time inside his head.

Monday, 13 August 2018

blog tour, guest post, hayley barker, show stopper

Blog Tour: Show Stealer by Hayley Barker - The Importance of Literature to Me

I'm excited to have Hayley Barker stopping by the blog today for my stop on the blog tour for her novel Show Stealer, the sequel to her debut novel, Show Stopper. Hayley is here to talk about how important books have been to her throughout her life.

The Importance of Literature to Me

If I had to list all of the most important influences in my life, all of the experiences, places and people who have shaped me and turned me into the person I am today, literature would be right up there in the top three, maybe even at the very top.

Friday, 27 July 2018

brandy colbert, cyclothymia, guest post, little & lion, mental illness, mental illness in YA month

Mental Illness in YA Month: Georgia of Georgia's Bookish Thoughts - On Seeing My Mental Illness in a YA Novel

13:00 Jo 2 comments

Back in June, I went to a launch party where I met Georgia of Georgia's Bookish Thoughts, and it turned out to be a very serendipitous and fortuitous meeting. We got talking about YA books and book blogging, and I mentioned I was holding Mental Illness in YA Month. She asked what I had been reading for the event, and when I mentioned Pointe by Brandy Colbert, she asked me if I had read Little & Lion, and told me how important it was to her. Fortunately, she agreed to write a last-minute guest post to tell you what she told me about why Little & Lion is just so important.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

colour me in, guest post, lydia ruffles, mental illness, mental illness in YA month, the taste of blue light, ukya

Mental Illness in YA Month: Lydia Ruffles with A Tale of Two Lists + Giveaway

I'm so excited to have Lydia Ruffles, UKYA author of The Taste of Blue Light and upcoming Colour Me In, stopping by today to talk about why she writes about mental health in her novels.

A Tale of Two Lists

I said an enthusiastic and, as it turns out, complacent 'yes, please' when Jo invited me to do a guest blog on why I write about mental health for her Mental Illness in YA month. It seemed like the question was made for me. This'lll be easy, I thought.

(Spoiler alert: it wasn't.)

The main characters in my two books - 17-year-old art student Lux Langley in The Taste of Blue Light and 19-year-old actor Arlo Thomas in Colour Me In – both have a mental illness. (They also have friends, family, first love, adventures, goals, agency, etc – more on this later.)

Sunday, 22 July 2018

guest post, mental illness, mental illness in YA month, mike schlossberg, redemption

Mental Illness in YA Month: Mike Schlossberg on Fighting Mental Illness Stigma Through Writing

Today, I'm glad to have Mike Schlossberg, author of Redemption, stopping by the blog for Mental Illness in YA Month, with a wonderful guest post about fighting the stigma surrounding mental illness by writing about it.

Let me start with a bit of a confession: When it comes to ensuring that mental illness is adequately discussed in society, I’m biased as hell. one in five American adults actively suffer from mental illness, and I’m one of them.

That being said, hiya! My name is Mike Schlossberg. My full-time job is to serve as a State Representative for the 132nd District of Pennsylvania, serving the people off Allentown and South Whitehall Township. I also write, and recently completed Redemption, my Young Adult, science fiction thriller about depression, anxiety and the end of the world.

Wednesday, 11 July 2018

ashley woodfolk, diverse books, guest post, intersection books, mental illness in YA month, the beauty that remains

Mental Illness in YA Month: Ashley Woodfolk on Empathy and Intersectionality in YA

When I first started looking at the YA books I had on my shelves featuring mental illness and researching others I could read for this event, I realised that pretty much every one featured white, cishet, otherwise non-disabled, Christian/athiest (or no religion specified) characters. Apart from a few, most of the books I were coming across featured no intersectionality whatsoever. So I did more research and asked for recommendations, wanting the event to feature as many books with protagonists with intersecting identities as possible, and made a list. It featured 15 books in total, with 11 of them featuring protagonists of colour. Fortunately, since making that, I have discovered a few more books to add to the list, but there are still too few.

But during my search, on The Beauty That Remains' release day, YA debut author Ashley Woodfolk wrote an absolutely brilliant Twitter thread about intersectionality. Today, I'm really excited to have Ashley visiting the blog to expand on her Twitter thread, and the importance of intersectionality in YA.

Universal empathy is the key to making the world a better place.

That might sound like an oversimplification, but all the greatest crimes against humanity were perpetuated by lies that dehumanized a group of people. Empathy is essential to imagine people complexly--it’s seeing someone as being as real, as human, as you are. But empathy isn’t something that is easily obtained.

Wednesday, 4 July 2018

by the time you read this i'll be dead, guest post, john green, julie anne peters, looking for alaska, mental illness, mental illness in YA month, YA

Mental Illness in YA Month: Hannah of A Cup of Wonderland - The Books That Helped Me Come To Terms With My Mental Illnesses

Today, we have a absolutely incredible, unbelievably honest gust post from Hannah of A Cup of Wonderland, in which she talks about the YA books that helped her with regards to her mental illneses.

Trigger Warning: This guest post discusses attempted suicide. It also mentions Thirteen Reasons Why.

The Books That Helped Me Come To Terms With My Mental Illnesses

A wise man once told me that words and stories were one of the most powerful things in the world. He was definitely right, at least for me because stories helped me stay alive when really all I wanted to do was to die. When I was 13 or 14 - if I’m honest all those years are just a blur or completely lost in my mind - I was diagnosed with depression, anxiety and OCD. Because my family didn’t feel comfortable with me taking medication, I was assigned to go to therapy. I attended for perhaps just over a year, and it helped, but that doesn’t mean I accepted I was ill.

Monday, 30 April 2018

blog tour, books dealing with rape, guest post, savita kalhan, the girl with the broken mirror

Blog Tour: The Girl in the Broken Mirror - Savita Kalhan's Favourite Books that Deal With Rape

07:00 Jo 1 comment

Today, I'm exciting to be hosting the first stop in the blog tour by The Girl in the Broken Mirror by Savita Kalhan. Savita is dropping by today with a fantastic guest post where she recommends her favourite YA novels that deal with rape and sexual assault.

Hi Jo! Thank you so much for inviting me on your blog today. It’s great to be here. The Girl in the Broken Mirror will hit the shelves tomorrow – May 1st! So this is a great way to introduce the book to the world!

Unsurprisingly, there are not many books on the subject of rape or sexual abuse for the teen and young adult market. It is not an easy subject to deal with. But in this world today of #metoo and #timesup, and with the horrifying statistics on sexual abuse and rape of children, it’s very important that there are books out there that focus on these crimes. It’s important for young people to be aware of rape and its consequences, to be aware of blame culture, and to be able to speak up and find a voice, find help, if they have been victims of such a terrible crime, and ultimately to find hope.

Thursday, 4 May 2017

allan stratton, diverse books, guest post, optimists die first, rachael lucas, susin nielsen, the state of grace, the way back home

Guest Post: Allan Stratton, Author of The Way Back Home, Recommends Diverse YA

Today Allan Stratton, author of The Way Back Home, is stopping by to recommend two of his recent favourite diverse reads.

Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen and The State of Grace by Rachael Lucas (#OwnVoices) are two books that hit my head and heart. Nielsen’s is the story of a once-happy teen who blames herself for the death of her infant sister. Lucas’ is the story of a girl with Asperger’s and a complicated family life.

Tuesday, 17 November 2015

alice nuttall, guest post, louise o'neill, only ever yours, sex in teen lit month ii

Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Alice Nuttall: Companions, Concubines and Chastities: Weaponised Sexuality in Louise O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours

Today I have the wonderful Alice Nuttall stopping by with a fantastic guest post about sexuality in one of my favourite YA novels, Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill.

A little warning just as a heads up, there are some minor spoilers in Alice's post. I don't think there's anything that would spoil the enjoyment of the story overall, but if you have yet to read Only Ever Yours and you'd rather not have anything spoilt for you, maybe skip this post. If you have, read on, because it's brilliant!

Companions, Concubines and Chastities: Weaponised sexuality in Louise O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours

Louise O’Neill’s debut novel describes a dystopian future that’s scarily close to our present. Teenage girls are brought up in a claustrophobic society with an obsessive focus on their looks and an infinitesimally narrow band of what is deemed acceptable behaviour. All right, the girls in question have been genetically engineered for maximum attractiveness, and they are raised in a nightmarish boarding school that is set up as The Handmaid’s Tale-meets-reality TV, but despite the alien setting, the constant emphasis on prettiness, compliance and conformity is frighteningly familiar.

Saturday, 14 November 2015

carrier mesrobian, cut both ways, guest post, perfectly good white boy, sex and violence, sex in teen lit month ii

Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Carrie Mesrobian: "Only If It Serves the Plot"

Today, I have an absolutely incredible guest post from Carrie Mesrobian, YA author of Sex & Violence, Perfectly Good White Boy, and Cut Both Ways, who is stopping by to talk about why she thinks YA authors should write novels with sex.

“Only If It Serves The Plot” – or why most advice you’ve read about writing about sex is worthless.

Adults cannot talk about sex without going slightly unhinged.

Even if there’s wine. Even if it’s between friends. For some, even if it’s with their spouses and partners. There’s something about wanting to talk about sex that marks you as someone off-kilter, creepy, and – dare I say it – perverse.

So it’s not a shock that we lose our minds about sex depicted in fiction. We mock the literary/adult side of it via formats like the Bad Sex Awards (where are the Good Sex Awards?) and we castigate and ghettoize books that focus on sex too much in general, like romance novels, so-called “chick-lit,” and erotica.

Wednesday, 11 November 2015

asexual, asexuality, guest post, lgbtq, lgbtq ya, sex in teen lit month ii

Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Hayley Sprout: Why Asexual Representation Matters

Today we have a awesome post from book and movie reviewer Hayley Sprout, who is stopped by to talk about asexual representation in YA and reading sex in YA as an asexual person.

Why Asexual Representation Matters

Firstly I’d like to thank Jo for having me on her blog as part of ‘Sex In Teen Lit’ Month II! Sex seems to be such a taboo topic for people to talk about. And yet comes with pressure the size of King Kong and Godzilla combined. Who had their first kiss first? Who lost their virginity first? What age? There seems to be a competition with moments regarding sex and relationships. Like the first one to reach the finish line is rewarded with the most pride. But there’s more to it. Books have the ability to teach so much. They hold the key for people to escape the real world for a few hours at a time. We are able to follow situations and stories of people we feel a connection with. But this doesn’t help so much to people who don’t feel sexual attraction to others.

Tuesday, 10 November 2015

guest post, jenn bennett, night owls, sex in teen lit month ii

Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Jenn Bennett: Open for Discussion

Today, I have great guest post from YA author of Night Owls, Jenn Bennett on a conversation had between her characters, Jack and Bex.

Open for Discussion

My YA debut, Night Owls, (aka The Anatomical Shape of a Heart in the U.S.), is a book about two very different teen artists who are having trouble communicating. My hero, Jack, is an anonymous graffiti artist spray-painting enormous gold words across San Francisco—BELONG, FLY, BLOOM. But he can’t seem to get the attention of the girl he likes until does something that causes the police to show up at her doorstep.

Friday, 6 November 2015

guest post, judith tewes, my soon-to-be sex life, sex in teen lit month ii, sex in ya

Sex in Teen Lit Month II - Judith Tewes: Didn't We Already Have a Sexual Revolution?