Review: A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (#Ad)

I was received this eProof for free from Titan Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee

Published: 22nd February 2022 | Publisher: Titan Books | Source: NetGalley
Victoria Lee’s Website

If We Were Villains meets The Craft in this page-turning LGBT dark academia thriller.

Felicity Morrow is back at the Dalloway School to finish her senior year after the tragic death of her girlfriend. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students―girls some say were witches.

Felicity was once drawn to the dark legacy of witchcraft. She's determined to leave that behind her now; but it's hard when Dalloway's occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget it.

It's Ellis Haley's first year at Dalloway. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity can't shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity can't say no. And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway―and in herself.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself. From Goodreads.

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The StoryGraph | Goodreads

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features vomit, blood, an on-page sex scene (vague), animal cruelty and death, substance abuse, reference to bullying, reference to suicide (no actual suicide), references to racist history at a predominantly white institution, grief, panic attacks and disassociation (I believe), anorexia, alcoholism, psychotic depression, reference to a stay in a mental health facility, child neglect (past/off page), manipulation and emotional abuse, violence, death, and a mutilated corpse.

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Quick Fire Review: The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

Published: 2nd August 2016 | Publisher: HarperTeen | Source: Bought
Katrina Leno's Website

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she's missed bits and pieces of her life. Her memory is perforated with holes and gaps. But then a horrible accident changes everything.

Now she's starting to remember her own disturbing secrets. And bit by bit, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led--and the love that she can't let go. From The StoryGraph.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features descriptions of blood, mention of animal cruelty, a motorbike accident, death, depression, suicide ideation, and dissociative personality disorder.

Continue reading Quick Fire Review: The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

Review: Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Published: 25th July 2017 | Publisher: HarperTeen | Source: Bought
Katrina Leno's Website

Lottie Reeves has always struggled with anxiety, and when her beloved Aunt Helen dies, Lottie begins to fear that her own unexpected death might be waiting around every corner.

Aunt Helen wasn’t a typical aunt. She was the author of the best–selling Alvin Hatter series, about siblings who discover the elixir of immortality. Her writing inspired a generation of readers.

In her will, she leaves one last writing project—just for Lottie. It’s a series of letters, each containing mysterious instructions designed to push Lottie out of her comfort zone. Soon, Lottie’s trying some writing of her own, leaping off cliffs, and even falling for a boy she’s only just met. Then the letters reveal an extraordinary secret about the inspiration for the Alvin Hatter series. Lottie finds herself faced with an impossible choice, one that will force her to confront her greatest fear once and for all. From The StoryGraph.

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Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features panic attacks, breast cancer, death of a family member, and discussion about suicide.

Continue reading Review: Everything All at Once by Katrina Leno

Quick Fire Review: Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

Links with an asterisk (*) are Ad: Affiliate Links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I'll make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

Published: 9th July 2020 | Publisher: Penguin | Source: Bought
Kat Ellis' Website

There's something bad in the water...

Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker, and thinks she knows all about Harrow Lake, the setting of his most famous movie.

But when her father is brutally attacked and she's sent there to stay with her reclusive grandmother, she realizes the town is harbouring secrets more horrifying than she could ever have imagined. Not only is this the place where her mother disappeared without a trace, it's a town holding on to a dark past that's even more frightening than her father's movies. As Lola is drawn deeper into the town's grip, she starts to question what's real, what happened to her mother, and whether she'll ever get out of Harrow Lake alive. From The StoryGraph

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Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features child abuse, domestic abuse, and discussion of suicide.

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Review: A Kingdom for a Stage by Heidi Heilig

A Kingdom for a Stage by Heidi Heilig

Published: 8th October 2019 | Publisher: Greenwillow Books | Source: Bought
Heidi Heilig's Website

Jetta is a prisoner. A prisoner of the armee, a prisoner of fate, and a prisoner of her own madness. Held captive in Hell’s Court—now the workshop of Theodora, the armee engineer and future queen of Chakrana—Jetta knows she needs to escape. But Theodora has the most tempting bait—a daily dose of a medication that treats Jetta’s madness.

But the cost is high. In exchange, Jetta must use her power over dead spirits to trap their souls into flying machines—ones armed with enough firepower to destroy every village in Chakrana. And Theodora and her armee also control Le Trépas—a terrifying necromancer who once had all of Chakrana under his thumb, and Jetta’s biological father. Jetta fears the more she uses her powers, the more she will be like Le Trépas—especially now that she has brought her brother, Akra, back from the dead.

Jetta knows Le Trépas can’t be trusted. But when Akra teams up with Leo, the handsome smuggler who abandoned her, to pull off an incredible escape, they insist on bringing the necromancer along. The rebels are eager to use Le Trépas’s and Jetta’s combined magic against the invading colonists. Soon Jetta will face the choice between saving all of Chakrana or becoming like her father, and she isn’t sure which she’ll choose. The StoryGraph

My other reviews of The Shadow Players Trilogy:
For a Muse of Fire (#Ad)

WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features abduction, imprisonment, torture, a person being burned alive, a massacre, and murder.

Continue reading Review: A Kingdom for a Stage by Heidi Heilig

Review: The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale (#Ad)

I received sent this eProof for free from Del Rey via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

The Toymakers by Robert Dinsdale

Published: 8th February 2018 | Publisher: Del Rey | Cover Designer: Head Design | Cover Illustrator: Laura Barrett | Source: NetGalley
Robert Dinsdale's Website

The Emporium opens with the first sign of frost...

It is 1917, and while war wages across Europe, in the heart of London, there is a place of hope and enchantment.

The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles on their own.

Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own. But Cathy is about to discover that the Emporium has secrets of its own... From Goodreads.

Rep: Main character who develops with PTSD.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features teenage pregancy, discussion of forced adoption, discussion of male rape, discussion of violence, arrest and punishment not equal to offence, katorga/penal labour, starvation, suicide ideation, war, death, discussion of gas attack, PTSD, discussion of injuries and wounds, and false imprisonment.

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Review: How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

Published: 7th May 2019 | Publisher: Dial Books | Cover Designer: Kristie Radwilowicz | Cover Illustrator: Karolis Strautiekas | Source: Bought
Helena Fox's Website

Biz knows how to float. She has her people, her posse, her mom and the twins. She has Grace. And she has her dad, who tells her about the little kid she was, who loves her so hard, and who shouldn't be here but is. So Biz doesn't tell anyone anything. Not about her dark, runaway thoughts, not about kissing Grace or noticing Jasper, the new boy. And she doesn't tell anyone about her dad. Because her dad died when she was seven. And Biz knows how to float, right there on the surface--normal okay regular fine.

But after what happens on the beach--first in the ocean, and then in the sand--the tethers that hold Biz steady come undone. Dad disappears, and with him, all comfort. It might be easier, better, sweeter to float all the way away? Or maybe stay a little longer, find her father, bring him back to her. Or maybe--maybe maybe maybe--there's a third way Biz just can't see yet. From Goodreads.

Trigger/Content Warnings: This book features sex shaming, hallucinations, disassociation, anxiety and panic attacks, depression, suicide ideation, and discussion of suicide.

Continue reading Review: How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

Review: That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger (#Ad)

I received this eProof for free from Hodder Children's Book via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger

Published: 28th August 2019 | Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | Source: Publisher.
Kody Keplinger's Website

It's been three years since the Virgil County High School shooting. Three years since my best friend, Sarah, was killed in a bathroom stall. Everyone knows Sarah's story.

But it's not true.

I know because I was there when she died. This might be my last chance to set the record straight... but I'm not the only survivor with a story to tell about what did - and didn't - happen that day.

And the fake Sarah story is important to a lot of people, people who don't take kindly to what I'm trying to do. The more I learn, the less certain I am about what's worse: the guilt of staying silent or the consequences of speaking up... From Goodreads.

Trigger Warnings: This book features a school shooting, blood, panic attacks, discussion of trauma, and alcoholism.

Continue reading Review: That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger (#Ad)

Review: Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver (eProof) - It’s been five years since Summer Marks was brutally murdered in the woods.

Everyone thinks Mia and Brynn killed their best friend. That driven by their obsession with a novel called The Way into Lovelorn the three girls had imagined themselves into the magical world where their fantasies became twisted, even deadly.

The only thing is: they didn’t do it.

On the anniversary of Summer’s death, a seemingly insignificant discovery resurrects the mystery and pulls Mia and Brynn back together once again. But as the lines begin to blur between past and present and fiction and reality, the girls must confront what really happened in the woods all those years ago—no matter how monstrous. From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Hodder & Stoughton via NetGalley for the puposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features animal cruelty, discussion of violent murder, discussion of bad experiences in foster care, implies - though doesn't outright show or say - child abuse.

Continue reading Review: Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness (Bought) - Fall under the spell of Diana and Matthew in the stunning first volume of the No.1 internationally bestselling ALL SOULS trilogy.

A world of witches, daemons and vampires. A manuscript which holds the secrets of their past and the key to their future. Diana and Matthew - the forbidden love at the heart of it.

When historian Diana Bishop opens an alchemical manuscript in the Bodleian Library, it's an unwelcome intrusion of magic into her carefully ordered life. Though Diana is a witch of impeccable lineage, the violent death of her parents while she was still a child convinced her that human fear is more potent than any witchcraft. Now Diana has unwittingly exposed herself to a world she's kept at bay for years; one of powerful witches, creative, destructive daemons and long-lived vampires. Sensing the significance of Diana's discovery, the creatures gather in Oxford, among them the enigmatic Matthew Clairmont, a vampire geneticist. Diana is inexplicably drawn to Matthew and, in a shadowy world of half-truths and old enmities, ties herself to him without fully understanding the ancient line they are crossing. As they begin to unlock the secrets of the manuscript and their feelings for each other deepen, so the fragile balance of peace unravels... From Goodreads.

Continue reading Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Review: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (eProof) - This is a love story. It's the story of a second-hand bookshop called Howling Books where people leave letters to strangers, or those they love, or want to love, between the pages of books in the Letter Library.

Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie are best friends. Or they were. Before Rachel moved away to the sea. Now, she's back, grieving for her brother Cal who drowned in the sea that he loved.

Rachel loves Henry. Henry loves Amy. Amy loves Amy but is happy for Henry to love her too.

This is a book about books. About the power of literature to cradle our past, present and future selves. It's about how we leave ourselves behind when we die. How we leave our histories in the things we love - like books. From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from Hodder Children's Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Continue reading Review: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Mental Illness in YA Month Wrap Up

So Mental Illness in YA Month has come to a close! I hope you have enjoyed the event as much as I have in putting it together! If there are some posts you think you've missed, you can find links to all posts  in the Mental Illness in YA Month Schedule. There's still a few hours left to enter the giveaways if you haven't yet, and can do so here: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman giveaway, White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock proof giveaway, and Colour Me In by Lydia Ruffles proof giveaway.

There are a lot of people I have to thank. Thank you to Akemi Dawn Bowman, Tom Pollock, Ashley Woodfolk, Eric Smith, Mike Schlossberg, and Lydia Ruffles for contributing to the event either by interview or guest post. Thank you to Hannah of A Cup of Wonderland, Hannah of Sprinkled With Words, and Georgia of Georgia's Bookish Thoughts for contributing with guest posts.

Thank you to Dahlia Adler, Katherine Locke, C. G. Drews, @EmmmaBooks, Kari Hagen, Aisha Bushby, Jessica Walton, Becky, Barker & Jones, Nass, Kate Mallinder, Lydia Ruffles, Becca Allen, Christina Banach, and Becca for all the amazing book recommendations that led to either me reading those books, or putting them in reading lists.

And thank you to you for reading my posts throughout the month, commenting, and contributing to the conversation. I feel so strongly about the importance of talking about mental illness to combat stigma, and I think books are such are safe way of having those conversations. I've really enjoyed reading all the very different books I've read, and the different experiences, struggles, views and opinions shown through those books. It's been a great month, and I'm very looking forward to reading the YA novels featuring mental illness that are published in the future.

Thank you for joining me along for this ride!

--
If you enjoyed this post, feel free to follow me on:
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Mental Illness in YA Month Reading List: YA Novels Featuring Mental Illness Wishlist

Mental Illness in YA Month is coming to an end, so I thought my penultimate post should highlight YA novels and teen non-fic featuring/about mental illness that are yet to come out that I'm highly anticipating! These are the books on my wishlist, in order of publication.

Colour Me In by Lydia Ruffles
Published on 8th August 2018

Nineteen-year-old actor Arlo likes nothing more than howling across the skyline with best friend Luke from the roof of their apartment.

But when something irreparable happens and familiar black weeds start to crawl inside him, Arlo flees to the other side of the world, taking only a sketchbook full of maps.

With its steaming soup and neon lights, this new place is both comforting and isolating.

There, Arlo meets fellow traveller Mizuki. Something about her feels more like home than he's felt in a while. But what is Mizuki searching for?

HOW FAR CAN YOU OUTRUN YOURSELF . . .
BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR WAY BACK? From Goodreads.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Reading List: YA Novels Featuring Mental Illness Wishlist

Mental Illness in YA Month Discussion: What Do We Want to See More & Less of in YA Novels Featuring Mental Illness?

This is the final discussion post inspired by young adult podcast YA Oughta's Mental Health episode, which featured Lydia Ruffles and Tom Pollock in conversation with Chloe Seager and Katherine Dunn, in which they talked about writing about mental illness, representation, and many other things. Towards the end of the episode, they discussed what they want to see more or less of in YA novels featuring mental illness, and I thought that would be an interesting discussion to have.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Discussion: What Do We Want to See More & Less of in YA Novels Featuring Mental Illness?

Mental Illness in YA Month Review: All the Ways the World Can End by Abby Sher

All the Ways the World Can End by Abby Sher (Review Copy) - Lenny is preparing for the apocalypse. Every night, she researches vacuum decay, designer pathogens, that inexplicable sleeping sickness knocking people out in Kazakhstan. Not many sixteen-year-olds are this consumed with the end of the world. But Lenny needs to have some sense of control. Her dad is dying of cancer. Her best friend Julian is graduating early and moving three states away. She's having to rehearse for a toe-curling interpretive dance show at school, and deal with her mum's indefatigable jolliness and smoothie-making in the face of the disaster they are confronting. The one thing keeping her hopeful is Dr Rad Ganesh - her father's oncologist. Surely Lenny can win him round to her charms - and he can save her father? From Goodreads.

I was sent this ARC for free by Hot Key Books for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Trigger Warning: This book features self-harm, homophobic language (overheard on a train), and the protagonist using ableist language.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Review: All the Ways the World Can End by Abby Sher

Mental Illness in YA Month Reading List: YA Novels Featuring Boys With Eating Disorders

Yesterday, I reviewed The Art of Starving by Sam J. Smith, about Matt, a guy with an eating disorder. I want to share a quote with you from the book again, because I think it's important to think about.

'Thanks to the magic of Afterschool Specials, I know that a disconnect between what I see and what others see is a very banal aspect of eating disorders. Here is the thing--what I have is not an eating disorder. I'm pretty sure boys can't even get eating disorders. Lord knows there aren't any afterschool specials about it.' (p12)

Just let that sink in for a second. 'I'm pretty sure boys can't even get eating disorders.' Of course boys can, it's just that society doesn't talk about it. To quote the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA):

"Despite the stereotype that eating disorders only occur in women, about one in three people struggling with an eating disorder is male. [...] In the United States alone, eating disorders will affect 10 million males at some point in their lives. But due in large part to cultural bias, they are much less likely to seek treatment for their eating disorder. The good news is that once a man finds help, they show similar responses to treatment as women. Several factors lead to men and boys being under- and undiagnosed for an eating disorder. Men can face a double stigma, for having a disorder characterized as feminine or gay and for seeking psychological help. Additionally, assessment tests with language geared to women and girls have led to misconceptions about the nature of disordered eating in men." From NEDA's website.

We need to have more conversations around eating disorders in men and boys, and so we need more YA novels featuring teen boys who have eating disorders. As well as The Art of Starving and Four Weeks, Five People by Jennifer Yu, here are a some more novels featuring boys with eating disorders I discovered when doing research.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Reading List: YA Novels Featuring Boys With Eating Disorders

Mental Illness in YA Month Review: The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller

The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller (Bought) - Matt hasn’t eaten in days.

His stomach stabs and twists inside, pleading for a meal. But Matt won’t give in. The hunger clears his mind, keeps him sharp—and he needs to be as sharp as possible if he’s going to find out just how Tariq and his band of high school bullies drove his sister, Maya, away.

Matt’s hardworking mom keeps the kitchen crammed with food, but Matt can resist the siren call of casseroles and cookies because he has discovered something: the less he eats the more he seems to have . . . powers. The ability to see things he shouldn’t be able to see. The knack of tuning in to thoughts right out of people’s heads. Maybe even the authority to bend time and space.

So what is lunch, really, compared to the secrets of the universe?

Matt decides to infiltrate Tariq’s life, then use his powers to uncover what happened to Maya. All he needs to do is keep the hunger and longing at bay. No problem. But Matt doesn’t realize there are many kinds of hunger… and he isn’t in control of all of them.

A darkly funny, moving story of body image, addiction, friendship, and love, Sam J. Miller’s debut novel will resonate with any reader who’s ever craved the power that comes with self-acceptance. From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features suicidal ideation, self-harm and homophobia.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Review: The Art of Starving by Sam J. Miller

Mental Illness in YA Month Discussion: The Responsibilities of Authors With and/or Writing About Mental Illness

This is the third post which was inspired by young adult podcast YA Oughta's Mental Health episode, which featured Lydia Ruffles and Tom Pollock in conversation with Chloe Seager and Katherine Dunn, in which they talked about writing about mental illness, representation, and many other things. One of the things they talked about that I'd like to discuss is, is there any responsibility for the author

1. Who has a mental illness to write about it?
2. Who writes about a character who has a mental illness to name the diagnosis?

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Discussion: The Responsibilities of Authors With and/or Writing About Mental Illness

Mental Illness in YA Month Review: Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne (#Ad)

Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne

I was sent this proof for free by Usborne for the purposes of providing an honest review.

Welcome to Camp Reset, a summer camp with a difference. A place offering a shot at "normality" for Olive, a girl on the edge, and for the new friends she never expected to make – who each have their own reasons for being there. Luckily Olive has a plan to solve all their problems. But how do you fix the world when you can’t fix yourself? From Goodreads.

Trigger Warning: This book features suicide ideation, and discussion of sexual child abuse and selfharm.

Continue reading Mental Illness in YA Month Review: Are We All Lemmings & Snowflakes? by Holly Bourne (#Ad)

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

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.

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