First Class Post (82) & April's Monthly Recap

First Class Post - because this post is first class!

Check out Sunday mail memes:

Showcase Sunday on Books, Bisuits and Tea

The Sunday Post on Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

For review:

• Monsters Love Underpants by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort (not pictured)
• The Young Elites by Marie Lu
• Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas (2015 YA Debut proof)
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (proof)
• Sweet by Tammara Webber (eARC - not pictured)
• The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katorina Bivald (proof)
• One Small Act of Kindness by Lucy Dillon (proof)
• It's About Love by Steven Camden (UKYA proof)
• One by Sarah Crossan (UKYA proof)
• A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall
• House of Windows by Alexia Casale (UKYA proof)
• The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich (proof)
• Inked by Eric Smith (eARC - not pictured)
• Me, Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
• Lorali by Laura Dockrill (UKYA proof)
• An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir (proof)
• One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart (mental illness proof)

Reading Copies:

• The Lost and the Found by Cat Clarke (UKYA proof)
• The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough (borrowed from my boss, then given back after reading)
• The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (UKYA proof)
• The Next Together by Lauren James (UKYA proof)

NetGalley (not pictured):

• What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi
• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
• The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge (UKYA)

 Bought:

• Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh (LGBTQ graphic novel - not pictured)
• The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough (bought after reading, link above)
• Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos (mental illness)

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Children's Books, Penguin, Bloomsbury, Little, Brown, Wordsmith Publicity, Vintage, Hodder & Stoughton, Quercus, Scholastic, Sourcebooks, Orbit, Faber & Faber, Indigo, Walker, Macmillan Children's Books, Allen & Unwin UK, Hot Key Books, HarperCollins & Chronicle Books for the review and reading copies.

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Inspired by Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts's Weekly Recap, here is a recap of my posts over the last week, and anything else I found interesting. Reviews:

• Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
• A Cat Called Panda by Melanie Arora
• The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead
• The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough
• The Last Summer of Us by Maggie Harcourt (read in Feb)
• The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
• Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh

Favourite reads this month was either The Game of Love and Death or The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Very different books, but both moved and wowed me in different ways! I also read Sweet by Tammara Webber, my review of which will be posted on 9th May.

In other news:

Some diverse bits and pieces to share with you, most to do with LGBTQ YA.

• GayYA is holding a month-long blogathon to spread the love for LGBTQ YA, with posts from authors, librarians, educators and bloggers. Do go check it out each day!

• Also, from 6th-8th June, a number of blogs will be hosting Queer YA Scrabble, "an event to increase LGBTQ-positive YA in support of Stonewall UK." There will be a scavenger hunt to find letters on the various host blogs for a giveaway, plus a bookish auction to raise money for Stonewall UK. It sounds like a fantastic event! Find out more by heading to the link above or Afterwritten, one of the host blogs.

• And I have discovered a brand new imprint to fall in love with. Duet Books is an LGBTQ YA imprint of Interlude Press! They're based in the US, but their books should be available in the UK. If you like the sound of their books, and fancy getting one, your favourite bookshop should* be able to order a copy for you. Thank you to Charlie for the head's up! *I can't say this for definite. I've only heard that their books will be available from a UK distributor, it all depends on whether or not your bookshop orders books from that distributor.

• Finally, 11th-17th May is Mental Health Awareness Week, so throughout May I'll be reading a few books covering mental health issues. I hope to read Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos, Panther by David Owen, Lies Like Love by Louisa Reid and I Was Here by Gayle Forman, and perhaps some others if I can fit them in.

That's it! How was your April? What's coming up for you in May?