Blog Tour: Damien Love

 Welcome to the Damien Love blog tour! We're celebrating the release of the second title in his Monstrous Devices series, and Damien has kindly provided all kinds of wonderful goodies for us, including a fascinating excerpt. You can find more about Damien's books here and here on Goodreads. More goodies below the jump...

Zoe Rosenthal is not Lawful Good by Nancy Werlin

Planning is Zoe Rosenthal’s superpower. She has faith in a properly organized to-do list and avoids unnecessary risks. Her mental checklist goes something like this: 1) Meet soulmate: DONE! 2) Make commitment: DONE! 3) Marriage: TO COME! (after college). She isn’t sure which college yet, but it will have a strong political science department, since her perfect boyfriend, Simon, plans to “save the country,” as his sister puts it, “and the planet and everything.” Zoe will follow along, the perfect serious, supportive girlfriend. It’s good to have her love life resolved, checked off, done. 

But speaking of unnecessary risks, Zoe’s on a plane to Atlanta, sneaking off to Dragon Con for the second season premiere of Bleeders. The show is subject to her boyfriend’s lofty scorn, but Zoe is nothing like these colorful hordes “wearing their inside on their outside.” Once her flirtation with fandom is over, she will get back to the important business of planning a future with Simon. The trouble is, right now, Bleeders—and her fellow “Bloodygits”—may just mean the world to her. 

Will a single night of nerdery be enough?

The Flipside of Perfect by Liz Reinhardt

 

AJ is a buttoned-up, responsible student attending a high-achieving high school in Michigan. She lives with her mother, stepfather, and two younger half sisters.

Della spends every summer with her father in Florida. A free-spirited wild child, she spends as much time as possible on the beach with her friends and older siblings.

But there’s a catch: AJ and Della are the same person. Adelaide Beloise Jepsen to be exact, and she does everything she can to keep her school and summer lives separate.

When her middle sister crashes her carefree summer getaway, Adelaide’s plans fall apart. In order to help her sister, save her unexpected friendship with a guy who might just be perfect for her, and discover the truth about her own past, Adelaide will have to reconcile the two sides of herself…and face the fact that it’s perfectly okay not to be perfect all the time.

Prom Theory by Ann LaBar

 

Iris Oxtabee has managed to navigate the tricky world of unspoken social interactions by reading everything from neuroscience journals to Wikipedia articles. Science has helped her fit the puzzle pieces into an understandable whole, and she’s sure there’s nothing it can’t explain. Love, for example, is just chemistry.

Her best friend Seth, however, believes love is one of life’s beautiful and chaotic mysteries, without need for explanation. Iris isn’t one to back down from a challenge; she’s determined to prove love is really nothing more than hormones and external stimuli. After all, science has allowed humanity to understand more complex mysteries than that, and Iris excels at science.

The perfect way to test her theory? Get the popular and newly-single Theo Grant, who doesn’t even know Iris exists, to ask her to prom. With prom just two weeks away, Iris doesn’t have any time to waste, so she turns her keen empirical talents and laser-focus attention to testing her theory.

But will proving herself correct cause her friendship with Seth—and the tantalizing possibility for something more—to become the failed experiment?

Weekly Roundup

 Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to this week's roundup post here on the blog. A pretty standard week, no blog tours, but we have not one, not two, but THREE coming up in the next couple of weeks!

The Incredible Record Smashers by Jenny Pearson

A record-smashing, feel-good adventure packed with heart, humour and Guinness World Records from Costa Award-shortlisted Jenny Pearson, and Kid Normal illustrator Erica Salcedo.

Lucy is a fixer of broken things. But there's one thing she can't fix and that's her unhappy mum. Until she comes up with an INCREDIBLE plan. Along with her best friend, Sandesh, Lucy is going to SMASH a world record. Because she's convinced that starry Paul Castellini - Record Smashers TV host and singing legend - is the answer to her mum's problems. But breaking a world RECORD when watermelons, kumquats, two baddies and a 30 cm shatter-resistant school ruler are involved isn't quite as easy as Lucy thought. Can she learn that sometimes happiness doesn't come with a plan?

The Outrage by William Hussey

 

Welcome to England, where the Protectorate enforces the Public Good. Here, there are rules for everything - what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to say, what to read, what to think, who to obey, who to hate, who to love. Your safety is assured, so long as you follow the rules.

Gabriel is a natural born rule-breaker. And his biggest crime of all? Being gay.

Gabriel knows his sexuality must be kept secret from all but his closest friends, not only to protect himself, but to protect his boyfriend. Because Eric isn't just the boy who has stolen Gabriel's heart. He's the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations ­­­- the man who poses the single biggest threat to Gabriel's life.

And the Protectorate are experts at exposing secrets.

Happy #Bookbirthday!

 Happy Thursday! This week, we have only one book on our lists publishing, but it's a fantastic one!

Queeroes by Steven Bereznai

What happens when a closeted jock, a scrawny, out and proud nerd, and a pair of bratty cheerleaders develop superpowers in a small-town high school? Can they stop a pair of super-powered classmates hellbent on reshaping the student body in a darker image? Or will teen angst, jealousy, and ill-timed romance doom them all?

Fast, fun, and sexy, Queeroes is where unlikely teen heroes must face their darkest fears to become their truest selves.

Maria's Island by Victoria Hislop

The absorbing story of the Cretan village of Plaka and the tiny, deserted island of Spinalonga – Greece's former leper colony – is told to us by Maria Petrakis, one of the children in the original version of The Island. She tells us of the ancient and misunderstood disease of leprosy, exploring the themes of stigma, shame and the treatment of those who are different, which are as relevant for children as adults. Gill Smith's rich, full-colour illustrations will transport the reader to the timeless and beautiful Greek landscape and Mediterranean seascape.

The Unbelievable Biscuit Factory by James Harris

 

The biscuit factory in Haddie's hometown is absolutely 100% NOT a Super-Secret Science Lab. Or a portal to another dimension. With orange fluffy monsters. OH NO. DEFINITELY NOT. Or ... is it? A laugh-out-loud biscuit-bonkers adventure for fans of My Brother is a Superhero and Kid Normal.

Weekly Roundup

 Happy Sunday, all! We had a good week here on the blog.

The Game by Linsey Miller

Every year the senior class at Lincoln High plays assassin. Lia Prince has been planning her strategy for years and she's psyched that not only does she finally get to play, she's on a team with Devon Diaz. But this year, the game isn't any fun--it's real. Abby Ascher, Ben Barnard, and Cassidy Clarke have all turned up . . . dead. Can Lia stop the ABC killer before he reaches D?

Escape Room by Maren Stoffels

 

Alissa, Sky, Cleo, and Miles just wanted something to do on a Friday night, so they signed up for an Escape Room. They have one hour to find clues, crack codes, and figure out puzzles. The Game Master told them they can always leave the game. But what if that's not true? What if the Game Master has no intention of letting them out?

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Thursday, everyone! This week we have four books on our lists, and amusing we scored all of them the same!

The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud

 

Set in a fragmented future England, The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne introduces us to a world where gunfights and monsters collide, and where the formidable outlaw Scarlett McCain fights daily against the odds. When she discovers a wrecked coach on a lonely road, there is only one survivor – the seemingly hapless youth, Albert Browne. Against her instincts, Scarlett agrees to escort him to safety. This is a mistake. Soon, new and implacable enemies are on her heels. As a relentless pursuit continues across the broken landscape of England, Scarlett must fight to uncover the secrets of Albert’s past – and come to terms with the implications of her own.

The Infinity Files by S. M.Wilson

Get in. Get Out. ⁠⠀

Keep to the task.⁠⠀
Leave no trace. ⁠⠀
⁠⠀
Ash Yang dreamed of being a starfighter pilot. But when she crashes out of her final test – literally – she somehow lands the most powerful job in the universe. As Guardian of the Infinity Files she must secretly planet-hop through the galaxies, stealing or returning treasures that have the power to stop wars...or start them.⁠⠀
⁠⠀
But when her home planet is the one at war, can she get the job done?⁠

The Last Secret You'll Ever Keep by Laurie Faria Stolarz

 

Four days…
Trapped in a well, surrounded by dirt, scratching at the walls trying to find a way out.
Four days of a thirst so strong, that when it finally rains, I drink as much as possible from the dripping walls, not even caring how much dirt comes with it.

Six months…
Since my escape. Since no one believed I was taken to begin with – from my own bed, after a party, when no one else was home…
Six months of trying to find answers and being told instead that I made the whole incident up.

One month…
Since I logged on to the Jane Anonymous site for the first time and found a community of survivors who listen without judgment, provide advice, and console each other when needed.
A month of chatting with a survivor whose story eerily mirrors my own: a girl who’s been receiving triggering clues, just like me, and who could help me find the answers I’m searching for.

Three days…
Since she mysteriously disappears, and since I’m forced to ask the questions: will my chance to find out what happened to me vanish with her? And will I be next?

That Way Madness Lies ed by Dahlia Adler

 

Fifteen acclaimed YA writers put their modern spin on William Shakespeare’s celebrated classics!

West Side Story. 10 Things I Hate About You. Kiss Me, Kate. Contemporary audiences have always craved reimaginings of Shakespeare’s most beloved works. Now, some of today’s best writers for teens take on the Bard in these 15 whip-smart and original retellings!

Weekly #Roundup

 Welcome to Sunday! Here's the roundup for the week.

This week, we reviewed

Threadneedle by Cari Thomas

The Follower by Kate Doughty

That One Patient by Ellen de Visser

It's Kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

We wished a happy #BookBirthday to some new books!

How was your week? Read anything good?

The Inverts by Crystal Jeans

 

Bettina and Bart have grown up as best friends, so surely they will end up together? After all, Bettina is young, rich, headstrong…. and gay. Bart is young, rich, charismatic… and also, definitely, gay. Any doubts are dispelled by, in short order: that ghastly kiss; a torrid encounter for Bettina in the school boiler-rooms; and an eye-opening Parisian visit for Bart.

Society will never stand for it. What else can they do but enter into a ‘lavender marriage’ and carry on indulging their true natures in secret? As the ’20s and’ 30s whizz past in a haze of cigarettes, champagne and casual sex, Bart and Bettina have no idea that they are hurtling, via Hollywood and Egypt, Paris and London, towards tragedy and bloodshed…

The Valley of Lost Secrets by Lesley Parr

 

September 1939.

When Jimmy is evacuated to a small village in Wales, it couldn't be more different from London. Green, quiet and full of strangers, he instantly feels out of place.

But then he finds a skull hidden in a tree, and suddenly the valley is more frightening than the war. Who can Jimmy trust? His brother is too little; his best friend has changed.

Finding an ally in someone he never expects, they set out together to uncover the secrets that lie with the skull. What they discover will change Jimmy – and the village – forever.

A mesmerising mystery about bravery and brotherhood from an outstanding new voice.

It's kind of a Cheesy Love Story by Lauren Morrill

 

After her mother gave birth to her in the bathroom of a local pizzeria, Beck Brix been given the dubious privilege of having minor fame, free pizza for life, and a guaranteed job when she turns sixteen—a job she unfortunately can’t afford to turn down.

Stuck with her geeky co-workers instead of taking Instagram-ready shots with her wealthy, photogenic friends, Beck finally realizes what she’s spent her whole life trying to hide: that Hot ‘n Crusty is a part of her.

Then disaster strikes the beloved pizza parlor that’s become like home, and Beck realizes that it takes losing something to really know what it’s worth.

Happy #BookBirthday!

 Happy Thursday, all! A relatively quiet week with just three books on our lists publishing.

That One Patient by Ellen de Visser

For every doctor there is that one patient, whose story touches them in a way they didn’t expect, changing their entire outlook on life. This inspiring and deeply moving book is the story of those patients.

Every weekend, in Holland’s most popular newspaper, de Volkskrant, renowned science-journalist Ellen de Visser asks a different medical professional to tell her about ‘that one patient’; the patient who changed everything for them.

Every day, in every country, thousands of patients share their stories with their doctors: stories they may never have told anyone else; stories that are heartbreaking, sometimes funny, and – just occasionally – unforgettable. To be able to do their job to the best of their abilities, medical experts use their ‘professional empathy’: they sympathize with their patients but try to keep themselves at a distance. But there is always that one patient who, for whatever reason, bridges this distance and often unwittingly, has a lasting impact on their doctor’s life.

There’s the dying patient whose decision to donate their organs would save the lives of five different people, bringing incredible comfort to the family they left behind. Or the little girl who showed clear evidence of having been beaten by an adult, but who remained too loyal to her step-father to say a word. There’s the little boy, diagnosed with life-threatening malaria in a Sudanese refugee camp, whose astonishing survival against the odds still inspires their doctor each time they stand by the bed of a child who looks unlikely to make it. And there’s the cancer patient whose love of cycling and unflagging optimism inspired his oncologist in ways he could never have imagined.

That One Patient is brimming with intimate stories of connection and of the unanticipated ways we can affect one other’s lives. All of them remind us of just how extraordinary humans can be, and of our incredible capacity for bravery, strength and humour.

The Follower by Kate Doughty

 

Instagram-famous triplets Cecily, Amber, and Rudy—the children of home renovation superstars—are ready for a perfect summer. They’ve just moved into the site of their parents’ latest renovation project when they begin to receive chilling messages from someone called The Follower. It soon becomes clear that this anonymous threat is more than a simple Internet troll, and he can’t wait to shatter the Cole family’s perfect veneer and take back what’s his. The Follower examines the implications of what it is to be watched in the era of social media fame—as well as the lies we tell and the lengths we’ll go to uphold a perfect image, when our lives depend on it.

Threadneedle by Cari Thomas (SPOILERS in review)

 

Within the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic.

Magic is the first sin. It must be bound.

Ever since Anna can remember, her aunt has warned her of the dangers of magic. She has taught her to fear how it twists and knots and turns into something dark and deadly.

It was, after all, magic that killed her parents and left her in her aunt’s care. It’s why she has been protected from the magical world and, in one year’s time, what little magic she has will be bound. She will join her aunt alongside the other Binders who believe magic is a sin not to be used, but denied. Only one more year and she will be free of the curse of magic, her aunt’s teachings and the disappointment of the little she is capable of.

Nothing – and no one – could change her mind before then. Could it?

Roundup!

Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to this week's roundup.

The Scarlet Harvest by Kate Ashbrook

"Welcome to Ovation where your genes are your greatest gift to humanity."

Wren Weiss, daughter of Reproduction Enforcers, lives on genetically segregated Genova Island. Her hopes and dreams hinge on one test, the Assessment, administered to girls when they become fertile.

Wren is determined to beat the test, but her worldview is shattered when a mysterious boy exposes her darkest secret and convinces her that something sinister lies beneath the polished surface of Genova Island.

Before Wren can get the answers she desperately seeks, government officials barge into her home, rip her away from her family, and transport her to a top-secret location called Ovation where egg harvesting is a sport and, to her devastation, she is the newest competitor.

As violence mounts in Ovation, Wren learns of a nefarious plot that endangers her family. She must unravel government conspiracies to discover her true identity and leverage the secrets hidden in her DNA to protect those she loves before it's too late.

An action-packed dystopian thriller with unpredictable twists, breathtaking confessions, and gut-wrenching betrayals. The Handmaid's Tale meets Divergent.

The Cost of Knowing by Brittney Morris

 

Sixteen-year-old Alex Rufus is trying his best. He tries to be the best employee he can be at the local ice cream shop; the best boyfriend he can be to his amazing girlfriend, Talia; the best protector he can be over his little brother, Isaiah. But as much as Alex tries, he often comes up short.

It’s hard to for him to be present when every time he touches an object or person, Alex sees into its future. When he touches a scoop, he has a vision of him using it to scoop ice cream. When he touches his car, he sees it years from now, totaled and underwater. When he touches Talia, he sees them at the precipice of breaking up, and that terrifies him. Alex feels these visions are a curse, distracting him, making him anxious and unable to live an ordinary life.

And when Alex touches a photo that gives him a vision of his brother’s imminent death, everything changes.

With Alex now in a race against time, death, and circumstances, he and Isaiah must grapple with their past, their future, and what it means to be a young Black man in America in the present.

Nothing But Life by Brent Van Staalduinen (mild spoilers)

Dills and his mom have returned to Hamilton, her hometown, hoping to leave the horrors of Windsor behind. But it’s impossible to escape the echoes of tragedy, and trouble always follows trouble.

When Dills hurts a new classmate, it comes out in court that he was in the Windsor High library when the shooter came in. But he won’t talk about what he saw, what he still sees whenever he closes his eyes. He can’t. He definitely can’t tell anyone that the Windsor Shooter is his stepfather, Jesse, that Jesse can speak into his mind from hundreds of kilometres away, and that Dills still loves him even though he committed an unspeakable crime.

Happy #BookBirthday!

 So. It, um, turns out that when I was writing last week's #BookBirthday post, and I said that this week had no books...I was looking at the wrong days on the calendar. This week has a lot of books. NINE books on our lists published today. Um...sorry about that?

The Storm Keeper's Battle by Catherine Doyle

 

Fionn Boyle, Storm Keeper of Arranmore, is facing the fight of his life. The terrifying all- powerful sorceress Morrigan has been raised from the dead and has sealed off the island from all help.

Fionn is the only thing that stands between her and a dark future. He's got to find a way to defeat her. But there are some terrible choices in store for Fionn as the dark sorcerer begins to take his nearest and dearest for her own. With only two candles left to burn, will Fionn master his powers in time to stop her?

Dark Lullaby by Polly Ho-Yen

 

For fans of Black Mirror and The Handmaid's Tale, in Dark Lullaby a mother desperately tries to keep her family together in a society where parenting standards are strictly monitored.

When Kit decides to have a child, she thinks she's prepared. She knows how demanding Induction is. She's seen children Extracted. But in a society where parenting is strictly monitored under the watchful gaze of OSIP (The Office of Standards in Parenting), she is forced to ask herself how far she will go to keep her family together.

Once Upon a Quinceanera by Monica Gomez-Hira

 
Carmen Aguilar just wants to make her happily ever after come true. Except apparently "happily ever after" for Carmen involves being stuck in an unpaid summer internship. Now she has to perform as a party princess! In a ball gown. During the summer. In Miami.

Fine. Except that's only the first misfortune in what's turning out to a summer of Utter Disaster.

But if Carmen can manage dancing in the blistering heat, fending off an oh-so-unfortunately attractive ex, and stopping her spoiled cousin from ruining her own quinceanera-Carmen might just get that happily ever after-after all.

 

Little Hen! Little Hen! What can you see?
Inside this stable, who could it be?


Lift the flaps to help Little Hen discover who is hiding underneath. With a mirror under the final flap, this seek-and-find book is perfect for sharing with the very smallest of readers.

The Castle School (for troubled girls) by Alyssa Sheinmel

 

When Moira Dreyfuss's parents announce that they're sending her to an all-girls boarding school deep in the Maine woods, Moira isn't fooled. She knows her parents are punishing her; she's been too much trouble since her best friend, Nathan, died―and for a while before that. At the Castle School, isolated from the rest of the world, Moira will be expected to pour her heart out to the odd headmaster, Dr. Prince. But she isn't interested in getting over Nathan's death or befriending her fellow students.

On her first night there, Moira hears distant music. On her second, she discovers the lock on her window is broken. On her third, she and her roommate venture outside...and learn that they're not so isolated after all. There's another, very different, Castle School nearby―this one filled with boys whose parents sent them away, too.

Moira is convinced that the Castle Schools and the doctors who run them are hiding something. But exploring the schools will force Moira to confront her overwhelming grief―and the real reasons her parents sent her away.

Double #Roundup!

 Happy Sunday, all! Yes, once again we missed last week's roundup, so here's a bumper roundup instead!

This fortnight, we reviewed:

The Missing Passenger by Jack Heath

Apocalypse Summer by Tyler H Jolley

Lily and the Lissadell Ghost by Judi Curtin

Finn's First Song by Gerry Daly

Scout's Best Day Ever! by Jennifer Farley

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Climate Action

Jamie McFlair and the Boyband Generator by Luke Frank and Sean Thorne

Busy Day by Lauren Crisp

Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza

Never Mess with a Pirate Princess by Holly Ryan and Sian Roberts

The Bedtime Book by S Marendaz and Carly Gledhill

We were on the blog tour for Bad Habits! We had a lot of fun with this one.

We wished happy #BookBirthday and happy #BookBirthday!

How did your fortnight go?

The Bedtime Book by S Marendaz and Carly Gledhill

 

It’s a cool, still night in the garden, but Mouse is not asleep. Someone has taken her bedtime book! Where could it be? And how will she possibly sleep without it?

Join Mouse and Frank the sausage dog on a brilliant bedtime romp.

Never Mess With a Pirate Princess by Holly Ryan and Sian Roberts

 

Princess Prue was sweet and fair, till PIRATES stole her teddy bear! Don’t they know?! You NEVER mess with Prudence – pirate AND princess!

A feisty, mould-breaking heroine for adventure-hungry toddlers.

Rumaysa by Radiya Hafiza

 

This funny and empowering story weaves together three classic fairytales into one new adventure with an unusual structural twist: Rumaysa is a Muslim girl who lets her hijab down from a tall tower in order to escape. Set in a magical version of South Asia, Rumaysa explores enchanted forests and dragon lairs, teaming up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara along the way to create a strong sense of sisterhood.

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Thursday, all! This is a fairly quiet week, with only three books on our lists. However, that's better than next week, which currently has NO titles on our lists!

Busy Day by Lauren Crisp

Discovering shapes is more exciting and hands-on than ever with this interactive board book, complete with tactile moving spinners to encourage children to think, turn and learn!

Jamie McFlair and the Boyband Generator by Luke Franks and Sean Thorne

 

This story begins with a snoring pug, a forgetful grandma, and the hero of this adventure in a really bad mood. There is also a goose on the loose. We just wanted to warn you.

Jamie McFlair’s favourite band got a slot performing on the country’s biggest talent show, but it went wrong thanks to Barry Bigtime (in an ‘incident’ involving a chocolate milkshake and worn underpants – don’t ask).

Barry is a music big shot, all round nasty man…and Jamie’s Uncle. The next day, he launches his own massive new band and Jamie smells a rat. With the help of three trusty best friends – popular Daisy, no-nonsense Jenners, and timid Mel – Jamie vows to uncover Barry’s dastardly plan.

But Jamie doesn’t know about BARRY’S SECRET. A secret that is TERRIBLE and SHOCKING and VERY STRANGE. There’s something hidden in Barry’s basement – a machine that is the key to his musical success. But what happens when the boyband generator goes wrong? We’ll give you a clue: it is NOT GOOD and THE ENTIRE WORLD is at risk. Can Jamie stop Barry Bigtime before it’s too late?

Climate Action by Georgina Stevens and Katie Rewse

This is a book about climate change.

In this book, we share the facts, but we also share hope. Learn about the causes of climate change and how it is affecting our world. Explore the human impact and what it means to have a carbon footprint. Read about creative ideas for tackling the climate crisis. Be inspired by the positive stories from young changemakers around the globe. Get tips on how to take actions and reduce your carbon footprint.


Our planet needs us, and we need our planet.


One tree will be planted for every book sold in the UK.

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Her advice, spot on. Her love life, way off.

Darcy Phillips:
• Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes―for a fee.
• Uses her power for good. Most of the time.
• Really cannot stand Alexander Brougham.
• Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else.
• Does not appreciate being blackmailed.

However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89―out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service―that’s exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach―at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back.

Darcy has a good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she's not proud of will come to light, and there’s a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again.

Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once? What could go wrong?

Scout's Best Day Ever! by Jennifer Farley

 

Scout, Daisy and Dad are going on holidays while Gran stays at home to mind the cat.

Scout promises to send cat a postcard from every place he visits on his travels around Ireland.

But which will be the BEST. DAY. EVER?

Scout's travels take him from Donegal to Cork, from the Giant's Causeway to Salthill. He climbs the Sugar Loaf, muddies up an archaeological dig in County Meath, visits Fitzgerald Park in Cork, as well as Grafton Street and Trinity College in the heart of Dublin even makes his way onto the pitch in Thomond Park, Limerick!

The newest entry in O'Brien's series of books taking place around Ireland is one of the best. Scout and his constant optimism are endearing, and the illustration style is great. I really like, in this book, the addition of a small image of Ireland showing where, exactly, everything is; it really helps to place everywhere, especially for those of us who aren't that good at geography! (I always forget that Cork City is so far in, in my head it's right down on the south west coast...)

I've mentioned the illustrations already, but I'm going to mention them again, because they really are lovely. I especially love the variety of dogs Scout meets on his travels! I've also added a couple of places to my mental list of places to visit in Ireland.

Really lovely.

Finn's First Song by Gerry Daly

 

Squeeeak ... Thwop ... Thwop ... Dwoooooerrrp!

Dad sings his magical whale songs to Mum and baby Finn, far, far away across the huge ocean.

When Finn gets lost, can the other sea creatures help him to send a message of his own?

Lily and the Lissadell House by Judi Curtin

 

Lily and her friend Nellie are housemaids at Lissadell House. Working in such a big house keeps the girls busy, but they still find time for fun, and friendship with Maeve, the madcap daughter of the famous Republican, Countess Marcievicz.

So when strange things start to happen at Lissadell - odd noises, food going missing and rumours of a ghost - Sherlock Holmes-fan Maeve is determined to lead an investigation.

Between them can the three girls solve the mystery of the Lissadell ghost?

Happy #BookBirthday!

Happy Thursday, everyone! It's a quiet week this week, with just two books from our lists publishing. But it's letting us get ahead with some books from later in the year!

Apocalypse Summer by Tyler H Jolley and Mary H Geis

 

Matt Voorhees awakes surrounded by a pile of VHS tapes in his cryopod, on the outskirts of an abandoned summer camp, along with eight other seventeen-year-olds. A scientist, who was tasked to watch over them while they were cryogenically frozen is dead. They have no idea where they are, or more importantly, where the rest of the frozen people are. When they were put into cryosleep, they were with their five thousand closest friends and families—but now they’re all alone. Their personalities clash while they try to formulate a plan. Some want to live it up, while others want to find their parents and the others. Left with only the tapes as a touchstone to the past, Matt is forced to survive the new world filled with intense floods and frigid blizzards.

Camp New Beginnings wasn’t the safe haven they were expecting.

Blog Tour: Bad Habits

Alex is a rebel from the tip of her purple fauxhawk to the toes of her biker boots. She's tried everything she can think of to get expelled from her strict Catholic boarding school. Nothing has worked so far - but now, Alex has a new plan.

Tired of the sexism she sees in every corner of St Mary's, Alex decides to stage the school's first ever production of The Vagina Monologues. Which is going to be a challenge, as no one else at St Mary's can even bear to say the word 'vagina' out loud . . .

The Missing Passenger by Jack Heath

 

When a seemingly unoccupied plane crash lands in the middle of Kelton, Jarli’s attempts to lay low and out of Viper’s criminal crosshairs crash lands along with it.

The cause of the accident is a mystery until his Truth App uncovers a dangerous secret at the crash site—a secret Viper will do anything to keep buried.

Suddenly Jarli is a target again and on the run with his high school tormentor, Doug. There’s no one he can trust, not even the police—and Jarli’s starting to think Doug is hiding something, too. Constantly at odds and left with no other choice, they team up to conduct an investigation of their own. But when Doug’s past comes back to haunt them, Jarli fears that there’s little hope in getting out of this one alive.

Kelton was supposed to be the perfect hiding place. But there’s no hiding from the truth.

Roundup

 Happy Sunday, all! Welcome to this week's roundup.

Amelia Unabridged by Ashley Schumacher

 

Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college.

In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future.

When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along.

Ashley Schumacher's devastating and beautiful debut, Amelia Unabridged, is about finding hope and strength within yourself, and maybe, just maybe, falling in love while you do it.

Game Changer by Neal Schusterman

All it takes is one hit on the football field, and suddenly Ash’s life doesn’t look quite the way he remembers it.

Impossible though it seems, he’s been hit into another dimension—and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his own.

The changes start small, but they quickly spiral out of control as Ash slides into universes where he has everything he’s ever wanted, universes where society is stuck in the past…universes where he finds himself looking at life through entirely different eyes.

And if he isn’t careful, the world he’s learning to see more clearly could blink out of existence…

The Children's Train by Viola Ardone and Clarissa Botsford

 

Though Mussolini and the fascists have been defeated, the war has devastated Italy, especially the south. Seven-year-old Amerigo lives with his mother Antonietta in Naples, surviving on odd jobs and his wits like the rest of the poor in his neighborhood. But one day, Amerigo learns that a train will take him away from the rubble-strewn streets of the city to spend the winter with a family in the north, where he will be safe and have warm clothes and food to eat.

Together with thousands of other southern children, Amerigo will cross the entire peninsula to a new life. Through his curious, innocent eyes, we see a nation rising from the ashes of war, reborn. As he comes to enjoy his new surroundings and the possibilities for a better future, Amerigo will make the heartbreaking choice to leave his mother and become a member of his adoptive family.

Amerigo’s journey is a moving story of memory, indelible bonds, artistry, and self-exploration, and a soaring examination of what family can truly mean. Ultimately Amerigo comes to understand that sometimes we must give up everything, even a mother's love, to find our destiny.

Happy #Bookbirthday!

Happy Thursday, everyone! A quieter week this week, with only four books from our lists publishing.

Sally Go Round the Stars by Sarah Webb, Claire Ranson and Steve McCarthy

 

A marvellous collection of Irish rhymes to delight any child, beautifully illustrated in this attractive board book.

Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce

 

After a horrifying public rejection by her crush, Ellie Nichols does what any girl would do: she flees the country. To be more precise, she joins her high school’s study abroad trip to England. While most of her classmates are there to take honors courses and pad their college applications, Ellie is on a quest to rebuild her reputation and self-confidence. And nothing is more of a confidence booster than getting a hot British boyfriend.

When Ellie meets Will, a gorgeous and charming Brit, she vows to avoid making the same mistakes as she did with the last guy she liked. Which is why she strikes up a bargain with Dev, an overachieving classmate who she’s never clicked with, but who does seem to know a lot about the things Will is interested in—if he helps her win over her crush, then she’ll help him win over his.

But even as Ellie embarks on a whirlwind romance, one that takes her on adventures to some of England’s most beautiful places, she still needs to figure out if this is actually the answer to all her problems…and whether the perfect boyfriend is actually the perfect boy for her.

A Shot at Normal by Marisa Reichardt

Dr. Villapando told me to get a good attorney. He wasn't serious. But I am. I'm going to sue my parents.

Juniper Jade's parents are hippies. They didn’t attend the first Woodstock, but they were there for the second one. The Jade family lives an all-organic homeschool lifestyle that means no plastics, no cell phones, and no vaccines. It isn’t exactly normal, but it’s the only thing Juniper has ever known. She doesn’t agree with her parents on everything, but she knows that to be in this family, you've got to stick to the rules. That is, until the unthinkable happens.

Juniper contracts the measles and unknowingly passes the disease along, with tragic consequences. She is shell-shocked. Juniper knows she is responsible and feels simultaneously helpless and furious at her parents, and herself.

Now, with the help of Nico, the boy who works at the library and loves movies and may just be more than a friend, Juniper comes to a decision: she is going to get vaccinated. Her parents refuse so Juniper arms herself with a lawyer and prepares for battle. But is waging war for her autonomy worth losing her family? How much is Juniper willing to risk for a shot at normal?

Roundup

 Happy Sunday! Look, we're on time and everything!

...more or less...

We are the ashes, we are the fire by Joy McCullough

 

Em Morales’s older sister was raped by another student after a frat party. A jury eventually found the rapist guilty on all counts–a remarkable verdict that Em felt more than a little responsible for, since she was her sister’s strongest advocate on social media during the trial. Her passion and outspokenness helped dissuade the DA from settling for a plea deal. Em’s family would have real justice.

But the victory is lived. In a matter of minutes, justice vanishes as the judge turns the Morales family’s world upside down again by sentencing the rapist to no prison time. While her family is stunned, Em is literally sick with rage and guilt. To make matters worse, a news clip of her saying that the sentence “makes me want to use a fucking sword” goes viral.

From this low point, Em must find a new reason to go on and help her family heal, and she finds it in the unlikely form of the story of a 15th-century French noblewoman, Marguerite de Bressieux, who is legendary as an avenging knight for rape victims.

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire is a searing and nuanced portrait of a young woman torn between a persistent desire for revenge and a burning need for hope.