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Tuesday, 6 March 2018

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda | Becky Albertalli | Review

Simon Vs Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

“People really are like house with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it's a good thing, the way we never stop surprising each other.”

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. - Goodreads

A few weeks ago I picked up the award-winning novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, just in time for the highly anticipated film adaptation, Love, Simon. While it had been on my radar for some time, I don't know why I never picked it up: it was so good.

The characters in this story are brilliant; Simon is so realistic it's like you know him in real life, he's funny and clever, and I really enjoyed his love of drama and performance. Simon's references to Harry Potter were absolutely fantastic and so relatable, as were the other pop-culture remarks (the dog is called Bieber!), the amount of Oreos*, and the fact that the whole drama begins with a secret Tumblr page.

“He talked about the ocean between people.

And how the whole point of everything is to find a shore worth swimming to.”

The identity of Blue remained a mystery until right near the end, as one would expect, but I called who Blue was probably around half way. Simon's thought processes, reasoning and logic around who Blue was brilliantly written, and a lot of fun to read.

That's what this book was: fun. It was a fun, sweet, story, but at the same time tells a very important tale, which feels incredibly real. It's definitely a story I plan to re-read, and while the movie trailer looks like the film will be a bit different, I'm looking forward to seeing it.

Have you read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda? What did you think?

*So many Oreos. Check out this fantastic Simon Spier's Guide To Whether You Should Eat An Oreo infographic from Epic Reads.

Post script: Yes I was reading Simon in my lunch break at work, hence the cup of tea in the 'coolest boss' mug (which isn't mine) and the apple.

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Friday, 4 October 2019

The Upside of Unrequited | Becky Albertalli | Review

"Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?"

After reading (and loving) Simon vs the Homo-sapiens Agenda last year, Leah on the Offbeat this year, and also What if It's Us (co-written with Adam Silvera), Becky Albertalli's The Upside of Unrequited had been on my list of books to check out. I managed to score the audio-book from the library and listened to it on a solo road trip I did recently.

I didn't love this book as much as any of the others she's written, but it was still an enjoyable story. Molly was a fun character but she was a little bit too obsessed with boys and crushes and falling in love and girl! Just cool it a little! There's a lot of that throughout the book, and at times it did get very old very quickly (one of the reasons I didn't give this a higher star rating).

But there are wonderful things about this book too. Molly and Cassie are twins to mothers, who have a baby brother too, and a somewhat complicated family (though aren't everyone's?). Their friends are wonderful in their own ways, and the love interests are sweet and quirky, too. As Molly tries to figure out if Will is actually flirting with her (and tries hard to ignore Cassie pushing her towards him in a 'you guys need to go out!' sort of way), and how she feels about her co-worker Reid, the story follows her over the course of a summer as she celebrates milestones with her family, watches her sister fall in love, and wrestles with all the weird and wonderful aspects of being 17.

It's a fun book, but like I said, definitely not a favourite from Albertalli. There is, however, a Simon cameo in this book (which I didn't realise until after I read it - like, duh, Anjali, come on), and it's kiiiiiinda a spoiler, so if you haven't read Simon vs the Homo-sapiens Agenda, I would suggest you play it safe and read that first.

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Friday, 15 June 2018

Leah on the Offbeat | Becky Albertalli | Review

“Imagine going about your day knowing someone’s carrying you in their mind. That has to be the best part of being in love- the feeling of having a home in some else’s brain.”

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended. - Goodreads

I seem to be reading a lot of LGBT books this year, and I wonder why that is. Perhaps there are more of them than there used to be, or they're on my radar more because so many of them are just such good reads. *Shrugs* Who knows. What I do know is that I am totally cool with that, and if YA books continue to be anything like Leah on the Offbeat, then bring.it.on.

After reading Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda earlier in the year, I absolutely loved the character of Leah Burke, so when I saw that Becky Albertalli had written another book from Leah's perspective, I was super excited. And she did not disappoint.

Leah is a brilliant gem of a character and I love her. She is this sassy, kick-ass drummer of a teen, who rocks her own style, and while she hasn't come out to her friends, her mum knows she's bi and is 100% supportive of that. Leah has a great way with words and I found myself laughing out loud at points, and then getting really emotional at times. Her banter with her friends and potential boyfriends/girlfriends is excellent, and Albertalli writes it wonderfully.

“I'm basically your resident fat Slytherin Rory Gilmore.”

It's your typical great teen novel, in a way, with high school ending, prom to worry about, break ups and make ups, road trips to colleges they might be attending, and a whole lot of drama. But it's also this sweet story of a girl figuring out who she is, not for herself necessarily - she already knows that - but perhaps who she is in relation to others.

Oh, and I have to mention that we do get a lot of Simon in this book, which is wonderful because I didn't want his story to end either. Being in the same tight circle of friends as Leah, we discover more about Simon and his relationships, and what their plans are after they graduate. We're one year on from the events in Simon Vs so in a way, it feels like a sequel even if it's Leah's story, Leah's focus, and not Simon's.

One last thing before you rush out to get yourself a copy: the geek in this book was my all time favourite thing ever. Do you know how many references there are to Harry Potter? So.Many!

“You can’t just like Harry Potter. You have to be balls-out obsessed with it.”

Other wonderfully geeky things that Leah brings up include (but not limited to): Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (the Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice musical that I basically grew up on), Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Love Actually, Grease, and Star Wars movies, Hamilton the show, HGTV, Roswell (okay, not specifically the show but it's a street name in the book and I like to think it's in reference), Gilmore Girls, Doctor Who, and even things like fan fiction and OTP (one true pairing). It was a top-notch geeky book, and I loved everything about it.

If you read and loved Simon Vs then you need to pick up Leah on the Offbeat.

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Friday, 4 January 2019

Features | 12 Books I Have To Read This Year

It's a brand new year and despite completing my GoodReads challenge of 52 books read in 2018 with just a few hours to spare I am somehow entering 2019 with even more books on my TBR than I had 12 months ago. It might have something to do with the fact that I reread the entire Princess Diaries series this year instead of reading all the unread books languishing in the corner of my room but really, who can say? All I do know is that there are an embarrassing number of unread books in that corner and it's time to start getting through them, so here are 12 books I have to read in the next 12 months, before the embarrassment becomes too much.

Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

My mum bought me a copy of Northern Lights right after I first read the first three Harry Potter books. I read the first chapter, decided it wasn't as good as Harry Potter, and it has sat on my bookshelf ever since. Having spent the intervening 20 or so years hearing how great this series is, I think it's well beyond time to get it down from the shelf.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

This one hasn't been on my TBR for very long but it still seems like I'm the last person on the internet not to have read it yet. I've only heard great things about The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue and now there's a sequel as well it really is time to join the rest of the book blogging world and read this book.

The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman

I read the first two novels in Grossman's Magicians trilogy in 2018 and thoroughly enjoyed them but I have a tendency these days to wait far too long to finish a series. It has already been a few months since I read The Magician King and if I don't watch out it'll be a year or more before I finish this last book in the series.

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I've been a fan of the Green brothers' content for years and having read and enjoyed all of John's books, I was extremely excited to hear that Hank was releasing a novel of his own last year. I even preordered it. Yet I still haven't read it. I will get to it soon.

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

I devoured the first two books in this series back in 2017, preordered this final instalment as soon as I could, and waited for it impatiently. Then I put it with the rest of these books and didn't read it. If anyone knows why I have recently developed this habit of putting off the final instalments of book series, please let me know.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This is just a classic that I can't believe I haven't read yet and I really think it's time to actually pick it up this year.

The Upside of Unrequited and Leah On the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

I adored Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and am so sure that I will love these two companion books by Becky Albertalli that I bought them both as soon as I finished reading Simon, but yet again, they have sat neglected on my shelves for months, even though I know I will love them. Well, not for much longer.

The House of Hades and The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

Are you sensing a theme? It feels as though I have been reading this series for years, taking far too long between each book, so perhaps my number one reading goal for 2019 is to read these two books and finish this series. Then I can move on to the next Camp Half-Blood series. And there will probably be another one before I finish that too.

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

Dumplin' was one of my favourite books of 2018, so if Puddin' is even half as good then I just can't wait any longer to read it.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Another book that everyone else seems to have read and another book that I've owned for far too long, I have almost read The Secret History so many times over the years and had it recommended to me even more often, so it really is getting embarrassing now that I still haven't read it.

Reading one of these books a month sounds pretty manageable but, as we can see, I am very good at putting off books I really want to read for no apparent reason, so we'll see how it goes. Are there any books you feel like you need to read this year?

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Saturday, 25 April 2020

Features | 3 Great Young Adult Novels Released in 2020 So Far

One of the things I'm very fortune to be able to do is review books for a couple of publishing companies here in New Zealand. This means that I'm often getting books either a little bit earlier than the public, or just as they are released. I've never been more up to date with Young Adult books (published by those that I work with anyway) before, and have really been enjoying reading books in the months they're released.

I thought I'd share just a few of books that I've read and really enjoyed which have been published in the last four months. Perhaps you've already read them, or perhaps they're on your TBR list. Either way, do let us know in the comments!

1. The Vanishing Deep, by Astrid Scholte

"Seventeen-year-old Tempe was born into a world of water. When the Great Waves destroyed her planet, its people had to learn to survive living on the water, but the ruins of the cities below still called. Tempe dives daily, scavenging the ruins of a bygone era, searching for anything of value to trade for Notes. It isn't food or clothing that she wants to buy, but her dead sister's life. For a price, the research facility on the island of Palindromena will revive the dearly departed for twenty-four hours before returning them to death. It isn't a heartfelt reunion that Tempe is after; she wants answers. Elysea died keeping a terrible secret, one that has ignited an unquenchable fury in Tempe: Her beloved sister was responsible for the death of their parents. Tempe wants to know why.

But once revived, Elysea has other plans. She doesn't want to spend her last day in a cold room accounting for a crime she insists she didn't commit. Elysea wants her freedom and one final glimpse at the life that was stolen from her. She persuades Tempe to break her out of the facility, and they embark on a dangerous journey to discover the truth about their parents' death and mend their broken bond. But they're pursued every step of the way by two Palindromena employees desperate to find them before Elysea's time is up--and before the secret behind the revival process and the true cost of restored life is revealed."

After reading Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte last year and absolutely loving it (must read it again!) I knew that The Vanishing Deep was going to be a good one. The Vanishing Deep was such a great concept. The description does a great job at giving you the low down on the setting and over all plot so I won’t go into it too much, for fear of giving anything away. Like Four Dead Queens, Scholte’s second book was a combination of great characters, imaginative settings, wonderful plot lines and even surprising twists. If you’re up for “a story of sisterhood, love and loss, and the lengths we will go to for the people we care about” then this is for you.

*Not the actual cover. Also look at that sad post damage! * cry *

2. Yes No Maybe So, by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

"Jamie Goldberg is cool with volunteering for his local state candidate - as long as he’s behind the scenes. There’s no way he’d ever knock on doors to ask people for their votes…until he meets Maya.

Maya Rehman’s having the worst Ramadan ever. Her best friend is too busy to hang out, her summer trip is cancelled, her parents are separating and now her mother thinks the solution to her problems is political canvassing - with some awkward guy she hardly knows ...

Going door to door isn’t exactly glamorous, but maybe it’s not the worst thing in the world. After all, the polls are getting closer - and so are Maya and Jamie. Mastering local activism is one thing. Navigating the cross-cultural crush of the century is another thing entirely."

I think I’ll read pretty much read anything by Becky Albertalli; her books are always a fun read. I’ve never read anything by Aisha Saeed before, but now I want to look into what else she’s written. Yes No Maybe So was co-written by the two authors, with each taking a character, alternating chapters. It wasn't quite as sweet as Simon vs the Homospaiens Agenda or What If It’s Us, but it was still a fun read.

3. Only Mostly Devastated, by Sophie Gonzales

"When Ollie meets his dream guy, Will, over summer break, he thinks he’s found his Happily Ever After. But once summer’s ended, Will stops texting him back, and Ollie finds himself one prince short of a fairytale ending. To complicate the fairytale further, a family emergency sees Ollie uprooted and enrolled at a new school across the country—Will’s school—where Ollie finds that the sweet, affectionate and comfortably queer guy he knew from summer isn’t the same one attending Collinswood High. This Will is a class clown, closeted—and, to be honest, a bit of a jerk.

Ollie has no intention of pining after a guy who clearly isn’t ready for a relationship. But as Will starts ‘coincidentally’ popping up in every area of Ollie’s life, from music class to the lunch table, Ollie finds his resolve weakening.

The last time he gave Will his heart, Will handed it back to him trampled and battered. Ollie would have to be an idiot to trust him with it again.

Right?

Right."

In many ways Only Mostly Devastated was your classic Young Adult romance novel. Teens meet, fall in love, but oh no something/s happen and it’s not all roses, but don’t worry, it all works out in the end. It was very predictable, but that worked okay for this story I think. I really enjoyed reading Only Mostly Devastated and managed to read it in just a few hours. The side-characters were your classic American high school stereotypes, with a few additional surprises and twists thrown in to zhoosh it up a little bit.

What books have you enjoyed so far this year?

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Thursday, 30 April 2020

Book Club | April 2020 Roundup

Our April 2020 book club is complete! Our theme was 'written by a POC' and there are several great recommendations below to add to your summer reading lists. Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts and photos this month and if you missed out on April why not join in for our May theme which will be introduced here and over on our Instagram page tomorrow.

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My choice for this month’s @bloggersbookshelf #bookshelfbookclub and my Muggle Studies choice for the #owlsreadathon2020, On the Come Up is the story of Bri, a teenager who wants, more than anything, to make it as a rapper so she can help her family and get out of the neighbourhood that killed her father. No one writes like Angie Thomas. She captures that authentic teen voice in a way that few authors can and I’m pleased to say that this book packs every bit as much of a punch as The Hate U Give. Although, this one didn’t make me cry as much, which probably makes me like it a tiny bit more tbh. - #vsco #vscocam #bloggersbookshelf #bookstagram #vscobooks #bookworm #booklove #prettybooks #beautifulbooks #instabooks #bibliophile #igreads #booklover #bookreview #coolgirlsread #readeverywhere #readmorebooks #onthecomeup #idratherbereading #bookaddict #cozyreading #readingbringsjoy #potterhead #pottergram #wizardingworld #hogwartsismyhome #hogwartsforever #owlsreadathon

A post shared by Anastasia Gammon | Writer (@stasialikescakes) on Apr 19, 2020 at 6:40am PDT

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed

"I think I’ll read pretty much read anything by Becky Albertalli; her books are always a fun read. I’ve never read anything by Aisha Saeed before, but now I want to look into what else she’s written. Yes No Maybe So was co-written by the two authors, with each taking a character, alternating chapters. I really enjoyed this book! It was a tad predictable in places, but overall a really enjoyable YA read." - Anjali

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Spent some of Day 10 out in the sun reading #YesNoMaybeSo by @beckyalbertalli and @aishacs. Just under half way through and enjoying it so far! Have you read Yes No Maybe So? What did you think you think? It's also my pick for @bloggersbookshelf Book club this month! . . . . #bookstagram #books #book #bookaholic #booksofinstagram #confessionsofabookaddict #bookaddict #bookworm #bookreview #booklover #instaread #readthisbook #fiction #ya #lblogger #lifestyleblogger #nzbloggers #nzcontentcollective

A post shared by Anjali-This Splendid Shambles (@anjalikay) on Apr 4, 2020 at 2:55am PDT

Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman

"I loved revisiting this book which I remember from my childhood. I opted for the audiobook version, which was only around five and a half hours, and really enjoyed it. Definitely one to pick up if you've never read it!" - Erin

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This month's book for @bloggersbookshelf written by a POC 📚 #bloggersbookshelf #bookstagram #reading #currentlyreading #rottenotterreads #rowrapup2020 #goodreads #goodreadsreadingchallenge #goodreadsreadingchallenge2020

A post shared by Katy (@rottenotter) on Apr 30, 2020 at 3:15am PDT

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Even though my reading has been all over the place lately (lockdown has basically consisted of playing Animal Crossing non-stop and staring at my walls on repeat), I'm excited to sink my teeth into my pick for the @bloggersbookshelf Book Club prompt for April – a book by a PoC. ‘How We Disappeared’ by Jing-Jing Lee is set in Singapore circa 1942, as Japanese troops sweep down upon Malaysia and Singapore, ransacking a village and leaving only three survivors. I'll check in in a few weeks with my thoughts on this one 📚✨ #DaisybutterReads

A post shared by Michelle Chai / Daisybutter (@winyeemichelle) on Apr 4, 2020 at 12:49pm PDT

We'll be introducing May's book club tomorrow so don't forget to check back! Use the hashtag #bloggersbookshelf or tag @bloggersbookshelf to share your photos and mini reviews with us throughout the month.

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Friday, 14 September 2018

Features | 5 Sequels on my TBR

Sometimes the best review of the first book in a series is whether the person reviewing it wants to read the next book or not. Sure, I can tell you what I thought about Divergent or Matched, but the thing that really tells you how I felt about those books is the fact that I never wanted to read their sequels. Those first books just didn't hook me enough to make me want to invest more time in their worlds. So today I'm going to tell you about five sequels I do want to read, thanks to the books that preceded them.

Hero at the Fall by Alwyn Hamilton

Hero at the Fall is the third and final book in Hamilton's Rebel of the Sands trilogy. The first two books in this trilogy were so gripping and fast paced that I flew through them both, and after all the intrigue and the twists and turns of the second book, Traitor to the Throne, I'm desperate to know what will happen to these characters in this final instalment of the series.

The Magician King by Lev Grossman

I had a few issues with The Magicians, the first in Grossman's trilogy. I had problems with the writing, the story, and the characters, and yet there was something about it that still made me want to find out what happens next. This series has a kind of pull that I can't quite explain, and although I'll probably roll my eyes at certain aspects of this book too, I almost can't help myself. I have to know what happens next.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

This one is not difficult to explain. Albertalli's first book, Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda was one of my favourite books that I read last year and when I heard that Albertalli's next book would be a sequel focusing on Simon's friend, Leah, I knew I had to get it. I would happily read Albertalli writing about any of the characters in Simon's world. Give me a book about his dog, I'll read it.

The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

The House of Hades is actually the fourth book in Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series, so of course I don't want to say too much about it, but having read the three Heroes of Olympus books that come before this one, and the Percy Jackson series that preceded it, I am still not done with reading about Percy Jackson and his world.

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

Like Leah on the Offbeat, Puddin' is a sequel that focuses on side characters from another book, but this time those characters first appeared in Julie Murphy's Dumplin'. I read Dumplin' earlier this year and fell in love with Murphy's portrayal of 'self-proclaimed fat girl Willowdean Dickson' and I know that Puddin' explores some similar themes and issues to the ones seen in Dumplin', and I can't wait to find out more about these characters.

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Wednesday, 3 June 2020

Features | Book Suggestions for Completing the Central Column on Book Bingo

How is your Book Bingo sheet coming along?

If you missed the memo, at the beginning of May we designed and posted a Book Bingo sheet for us to try and complete by the end of June. Despite the fact that a lot of us a lot more time on our hands at the moment, it can still be tricky deciding what to pick up and read, even without a Book Bingo sheet on the go!

I thought it would be fun to put together a couple of posts of suggestions of books that would fit some of the rows. If you're really stuck you can read all the books I suggest checking out and then boom! A complete row; go you! Gold star (virtually).

Some of the squares on our Book Bingo are about personal choice, or books that you've read in the past, so I'm not going to be suggesting books for those rows (I'm thinking about squares such as 'a genre you don't read very often' and 'recommended by a friend' because I can't comment on those for you). But let's get into it!

Central column (with the free space!)

Featuring a sports team | Harry Potter (any) by JK Rowling

So right off the bat (ha, sports joke ... get it) I'm struggling with what to suggest for this one. Turns out I don't read a lot of books that have sports teams in them ... but this is the ideal opportunity to remind that you Quidditch is a sport, and it features not one but four sports teams ... even more if you read Goblet of Fire. So maybe use this as an opportunity to re-read one of the Harry Potter books. You're welcome.

Shout outs | Check Please!, by Ngozi Ukazu (hockey)

One Word Title | Scythe, by Neal Shusterman

If you haven't already picked up Scythe by Neal Shusterman, now's your chance! Here at BB we really love this book. If you're not familiar with it, check out the discussion between Erin and I in 2018. The Arc of a Scythe triology was so good, and I remember just thinking about the story lines long after I had finished the books.

Shout outs | Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (graphic novel); Dry, by Neal Shusterman; Stepsister, by Jennifer Donnelly (retelling); Cinder by Marissa Meyer (retelling); Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (graphic novel).

FREE SPACE | All the books

A free space in Book Bingo means you don't have to read anything! Boom! But if you do want to read something, you can slot any book you'd like into this central square. Here are some quick fire suggestions that I've read in the past year that I really enjoyed.

Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
One of Us is Lying, by Karen M McManus
The Vanishing Deep, by Astrid Scholte

Book cover: Goodreads | Movie cover: Rotten Tomatoes

**Adapted into a TV show | The Magicians by Lev Grossman**

Sometimes when they turn books into TV shows and movies it can be a real disaster. I do think, however, that they (the movie and TV people) are getting better at creating adaptations that not only live up to the book's epic-ness, but they are sometimes even better. I'm not saying that's the case with The Magicians, but I really enjoyed the trilogy by Lev Grossman, and I have really enjoyed the TV show adaptation (there have been tears, you guys).

Shout outs | Game of Thrones, by George R.R. Martin (although let's be honest, you've probably seen the entire show and never picked up the book right? Yup, same); A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness; Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; Anne of Green Gables, by L. M Montgomery.

**Published in 2020 | Yes No Maybe So, by Becky Albertalli and Aisha Saeed**

Excuse my copy of this book. It's an ARC, hence the not-quite-finished cover, and it got bent in the post. If you're after a cute YA romance, check out Yes No Maybe So. It was a really sweet tale of Jamie and Maya, and they're adventures canvassing their neighborhood for an upcoming election. I didn't think it was as cute as some of Albertalli's other stories (like Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda), but it was still pretty cute!

Shout outs: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins; Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare; The Hand on the Wall by Maureen Johnson.

And you've done it! You've complete a row! Congratulations! But in all seriousness, I hope this has been helpful and at least given you some ideas for books to read.

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Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Guest Post | Joshua's 2015 Favourites

2015 has truly been a phenomenal year for books, and when I was asked to put together a list of 5 it was very difficult! Out of all the books that have been published, which ones do I choose?!

But I thought about it, and I’ve decided on a few personal favourites from 2015.

joshua top 5

In fifth place, I have The Edge Of Me by Jane Brittan. This book features a Serbian character, Sanda, who lives in the UK after her parents moved following the Bosnian War. Her crush, Joe, asks her out but together they are kidnapped and sent off across Europe to find out the truth about her parents’ role during the war. This is a debut novel from an independent publishing company, but it’s a very important book to read and has already been nominated for the Carnegie Medal, which is really exciting!

In fourth place, I’m choosing All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. I don’t need to provide a plotline because I’m quite sure many people are already aware of this book, but it’s a phenomenal tear jerking novel about ‘a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die.’ If you haven’t already bought a copy, I urge you to immediately.

In third place, I’m choosing Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. Becky’s style of writing is one that will have you laughing and crying, while still covering ever important topics. Simon Vs is a story told through a combination of narrative and emails and I loved it. Again, if you haven’t bought a copy or own one but haven’t read it, put it near the top of your to read list!

In second place, Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman. Rock The Boat published this in the UK and they were nice enough to send me a proof of it. Very, VERY few books have me as invested in their storyline as this one did. That’s not to say that books don’t get me invested in them anyway, but Illuminae is magnetic. It’s told in a new way where there are no dialogues, no narratives, no tenses, just documents. Transcripts of chats, countdowns, reports of inspections and stuff like that. But yet as you go through this book, it’s fantastically written, superbly illustrated and from me gets serious hats off to the authors!

But in first place, and it’s my personal favourite from the last few years to be honest, I’m choosing The Next Together by Lauren James. Lauren’s style of storytelling is fantastic, and if you haven’t already read The Next Together by Lauren James, it should definitely be on your to read list. It’s an incredibly inventive storyline, and it’s a fantastic read: I can’t wait for Lauren’s next novel!

So there’s my favourites from 2015! Merry Christmas!

This post was written by Joshua from Confessions Of A Book Lover.

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Thursday, 25 March 2021

Features | Women's History Month - Our Favourite Women Authors

Woman wearing a white dress and a straw hat, sitting under cherry blossoms trees reading a book. Women's History Month - Celebrating our favourite women authors on Blogger's Bookshelf

The month of March has been Women's History Month!

So what better way to celebrate than to share with you some of BB's favourite women authors. These are just a selection, mind due, as if we listed them all we'd be here forever (and how great is that?!).

From poets to fantasy writers, YA authors to general fiction writers, our list is long and varied. So much so that we've included a shout-out list for those authors whom we love but have yet to write reviews for on BB.

There are overlaps between the genres below, but for organisation's sake, we've broken them into general genres. We've included book reviews on BB but would love to know which books from these authors you've read and loved. Drop a comment below!