Wonder - R. J Palacio

Synopsis from Goodreads.
I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.




So, I really thought this book was going to be absolutely brilliant. I read a few reviews of it last year and I got all excited. I read a few interviews with Ms Palacio and I got even more excited because she seems like a really awesome woman who knows what she’s talking about. But I am completely disappointed.

This was not the most subtle of stories.

I don’t mind emotional books, some of my favourite books are the ones that make me cry, but this one just felt way too much.

The Year of the Beasts - Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister Lulu are un-chaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test. Alternating chapters of prose and comics are interwoven in this extraordinary novel that will break your heart and crack it wide open at the same time.










I wish I had some kind of superpower that allowed me to touch a book and get a feel of how much it was going to destroy me.
[Also, wouldn’t that make an incredibly geeky fantastic TV programme that only I would watch?]
Because I thought that this book was going to be a sweet book about first kisses and sisters and lovely things.
And it was.
But it was also the kind of book that punches you in the gut.
Multiple times.
And then just as you’ve got your breath back?
BOOM.
That’s it slapping you in the face.

I’m kind of tempted to leave this review there because that’s basically how I’m still feeling about this book and I finished it a good few days ago. But I like the sound of my fingers tippy-tapping against my keyboard.

Erebos - Ursula Poznanski

Synopsis from Goodreads
An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.

When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.

Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game.

Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur.



I was a bit wary of reading Erebos at first because I thought it sounded a lot like Ready Player One and while I really enjoyed that book, there’s only so many things you can do with a book about video games, right?
Woah, did you hear that?
It was the sound of a million video game players hissing at me all across the globe.

I’m not even going to pretend that I know the gamer gabble (yeah, that’s not a real thing… I made that up) because I really don’t. I like watching when people play them but I think that is because I love film (I have been known to exclaim “WOW, that film looks really good! Can we go and see it?” And I get a stony glare in reply followed by: “That’s the new Call of Duty, Jo”), puzzles and watching people get so stressed over things on a television screen.
But yeah, I can’t play games for toffee so I’m not going to go on about the gaming aspects of things because I think if I did I’d end up sounding like when my grandparents try to understand the internet.

I decided pretty early on that Erebos and Ready Player One have two things in common.
1) They feature a game.
2) I really enjoyed them both.

But the similarities end there.

Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.

[YA Edition]

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY! 

Yes, that's right, 8th March is indeed International Women's Day.
 If you're not entirely sure what this is all about, please find out more here and spread the word.

This year’s theme is “Connecting girls, inspiring futures” and, well, isn't that just brilliant?

I thought that this would be a great opportunity to do a feature on celebrating all things ladies in literature, with specific focus on the young adult scene.

 To start things off, I want to take you back a few years when I was in Year 6 at primary school (aged about 10), and I picked up a book from the library and sat down to read it. It’s about this boy who finds out he’s a wizard written by a woman, you've probably never heard of her, called J.K Rowling.
Perhaps it’s a cliché to say this now after how much that series has changed...well, everything, but those books are quite possibly the reasons that I read at all.
Back then, I wasn't a reader. Sure I dabbled in the printed word because I had to for literacy hour but those books are the reasons that I read for enjoyment. And I think there's a huge difference between being forced to read and actually wanting to read.
 I fell in love with the world, the writing, the setting, the magic and, of course, the characters. For you may have your Harrys and your Rons and your Dumbledores and your Siriuses and your Snapes. But I’ll always choose Hermione Granger, The Patron Saint of Girls Who Read, to be my best friend. She was the one who showed me that it’s not just OK that girls could be clever and work hard but that it's bloody brilliant.
I could go on and on about how much I adore Ms Rowling’s literary heroines but I won’t. Trust me. I love every one of them. She sure knows how to write a strong, memorable female character.

 And then pretty much a year ago to the day, I picked up another series. It was mostly research but it turned out to be my gateway drug. My skeleton key back into the world of Young Adult fiction, if you will.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
I simply adore Katniss Everdeen.
Since then I have read countless young adult fiction and I’ve met some absolutely excellent fictional ladies, but Katniss is still in my Top Five Literary Heroines.

I don’t think it would be too much of a stretch to say that J.K Rowling and Suzanne Collins, each incredibly different, have inspired me at two points in my life.

If it wasn’t for J.K Rowling, I probably wouldn’t have had my love for reading ignited at all.
And if it wasn’t for Suzanne Collins and that girl on fire, then I wouldn’t only not have started this blog but I also wouldn’t have convinced myself, as I stared at my countless Word documents of half-finished novel ideas, that maybe, just maybe, I could write something of worth too.


A few weeks ago I forced politely suggested that my sixteen year old cousin should pick up The Hunger Games.
I am pleased to announce that she is now officially an addict. I have told her she can keep the copies I have lent her on one condition.
That she passes them onto her friends who will pass them on to their friends who will pass them on to their friends and so on and so on.


So now you’ve heard what connected this girl and inspired my future, I asked a few of my favourite bloggers which YA literary heroines inspire them, whether they are the characters in the books or the women who have created them.

A Day in the Life of Courtney Summers

Do you ever wonder what your favourite authors get up to when they think no one is looking?
OF COURSE YOU DO.

Today is a very special day.
Because IT'S MY BIRTHDAY.
I'm kidding.
Well, not really.... it is my birthday.
[The big 2-3]
But no, that's not the only reason why it's special, because today I am extremely excited to welcome the wonderful Courtney Summers, author of books such as Cracked Up To Be [My review], Fall For Anything and the ridiculously brilliant soon-to-be released-oh-my-god-you-have-to-get-your-mitts-on-this-book-even-if-it-requires-nefarious-deeds, This is Not a Test. [My review] to my blog.

Also, I get to eat cake and the calories don't count.
Join us won't you?

From Cymru with Cariad.

I thought we'd end this week with a post dedicated to everything Cymraeg!

I've asked a few of my friends to help me out with this one so, please, pull on a rugby shirt, cuddle a sheep, climb a mountain or just sit down, grab a panad and let's all say iechyd da to Cymru!

Guest Post: What's In A Name? by J. Anderson Coats.

A few days ago I finished the absolutely brilliant THE WICKED AND THE JUST by the wonderful J. Anderson Coats. [My review] It tells the story of two very different girls living in Caernarfvon in the Middle Ages.

As soon as I started planning Wythnos Cymraeg || Welsh Week, I knew I just had to ask Ms Coats to be part of it because if I've learnt anything from living in Wales it is that it is full of rich and fascinating history and culture. And who better to ask to help me out than the lady who has written one of the most interesting and unique historical YA novels that I've ever read?

Enough of me rarebitting... *cough* on... I'll hand you over to the lady herself.