Bone Gap by Laura Ruby - Review

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps - gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza goes missing, the people of Bone Gap aren't surprised. After all, it isn't the first time someone's slipped away and left Finn and Sean O'Sullivan on their own.

Finn knows that's not what happened with Roza. He knows she was taken, ripped from the cornfields by a man whose face he can't remember. But no one believes him anymore. Well, almost no one. Petey Willis, the beekeeper's daughter, suspects that lurking behind Finn's fearful shyness is a story worth uncovering. But as we, like Petey, follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap - their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures - the truth about what happened to Roza is slowly revealed. And it is stranger than you can possibly imagine.

Even reading the blurb gets me excited about this book all over again. If it hasn't convinced you to preorder immediately, let me try! I've had a really good run of magical realism books recently and this is one of my favourites that I've read this year.

The best part of this for me was the way magical and fantastical elements were woven into a convincing contemporary story. It felt at times like a beautiful, dark fairy tale and at others like a really gripping contemporary novel.

In a lot of ways, I interpreted this as a coming of age book, with Finn trying to find himself as much as trying to find Roza. His relationships with Petey and his brother were incredibly realistic and complex. 

I also really liked getting the story from Roza's point of view, so you knew what was happening to her even when the boys didn't.

The unpredictability of this also kept me invested. There were a lot of aspects that I wasn't sure where they were going and I loved that!

This was a gorgeous book to end the year on. It comes out in just a few days so treat yourself!

Anna-Marie McLemore's favourite things

Anna-Marie McLemore is the author of my favourite book from this year, so I couldn't be more excited to share her favourite books, movies and characters!

'When the moon was ours' is my book of the year for so many reasons. It's not only the most beautifully written and plotted magical realism story that I've ever read. It also has incredible characters and explores identity in a moving, beautiful way that is rooted in Anna-Marie's own experiences. You can read my entire five star review here. 


Now for the main event - welcome to YA Under My Skin Anna-Marie!

Favourite YA book/s

WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Aisha Saeed 

Aisha’s language is precise and evocative, and she has a gorgeous way of depicting characters’ relationships with their families and family histories.

THE NAMES THEY GAVE US by Emery Lord

Look out for this one, both a family story and a camp story, in spring 2017. It’s also a brilliant, honest portrayal of faith.

NONE OF THE ABOVE

This one meant so much to me, I wrote a whole post about it for Jen at Pop! Goes the Reader: http://www.popgoesthereader.com/raise-your-voice/raise-your-voice-2016-with-anna-marie-mclemore/

IF YOU COULD BE MINE by Sara Farizan

In addition to being a study in how to write a book that’s short and spare but also rich and detailed, this book spoke to my heart as a queer WOC.

Favourite adult books

PASSING by Nella Larsen

If you haven’t read it and need more convincing to read it, consider that it’s also author Dhonielle Clayton’s favorite book!

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE by Laura Esquivel

A sister story, a love story, and a story of the Mexican culture I’m proud to come from, this was one of the first books I ever saw myself in.

THE LITTLE PRINCE

There’s new magic in this book every time I read it. The first time I stumbled through it in French class, and I keep coming back to it. I want to learn new languages just so I can read it again with a new perspective.

Favourite movies (of all time and now)

All time: A THOUSAND CLOWNS

Cecilia Cackley of Hooray for Books! also loves this film, so much that we periodically have Twitter quote wars.

Now: THE ILLUSIONIST

I know I’m using the term “now” *really* loosely since it’s ten years old, but considering most of my best-loved movies are classics, I’m hoping this magical story counts! 

Favourite TV shows (of all time and now)

All time: This is more a category than a single show, but some of my best growing-up memories were watching American soap operas and the occasional favorite telenovela with my mother.

Right now: UnReal, though I’ve only seen Season 1 and I hear worrying things about Season 2?

Favourite song/ band

Oh, this changes constantly. But right now I’ve been listening to Gregory Alan Isakov a lot. “Idaho” often ends up on repeat.

Favourite characters from YA books

Emerson Birch from Saundra Mitchell’s THE SPRINGSWEET

Emerson is my YA book boyfriend. *swoons*

Kamala from THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN

She may be a horse, but she immediately came to mind: “‘It is nice to be nice,’ Kamala said with a sage nod. ‘It is also nice to eat people.’”

Favourite character/s from adult books

The Lisbon sisters from THE VIRGIN SUICIDES

As a girl with many brothers, I’m enthralled by sister stories. The subtle relationships we see among the Lisbons always pulls me into their world. 

Favourite characters from books that you read as a YA

The de la Garza sisters from the above-mentioned LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE

Their relationships are messy and complicated, sometimes loyal and sometimes full of betrayal. Even though I don’t have sisters, these women grabbed me by the heart.

Daisy Buchanan from THE GREAT GATSBY

Oh Daisy Buchanan. The glamorous white girl fifteen-year-old me so badly wanted to be…

Thanks so much for sharing your favourite things with us and growing to be read piles everywhere!

British Books Challenge 2017

I'm really looking forward to taking part in the 2017 British Books Challenge! I try to support British authors as much as I can and this will definitely keep me focused in my reading.

I've listed a few books that I'm excited about for now and I'll add more as I think of them. I'm planning to concentrate on UK authors that I've come across at YALC and YA Shot conventions and authors of classics that I really should have read by now.

Books that give me hope - #YaXmasTour2016

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm so happy to be on this blog tour organised by the lovely Virginie (who you probably know as Chouette, blogger extraordinaire at www.chouett.com). 

2016 has been a big, strange year for me and for the world. More and more, I seem to gravitate to books that give me hope and I wanted to share those as part of the blog tour.

These are some of my favourites from the past, this year and next year.

Northern Lights came out when I was eleven. My grandad used to take me to WH Smiths to buy books that were well-written and award-winning. I think he was trying to break my Point Horror habit! One such visit drew both of us to Northern Lights. I still count it as one of my favourite books because it started my obsession with fantasy and is so beautifully written. I loved Lyra because I aspired to be brave and wilful like her (and I'd still quite like to have my own daemon).

One of my newer favourites is Rebel of the Sands. I loved the Wild West meets Arabian Nights premise and like Lyra I think Amani is an incredible character. It makes me so happy to think of young girls (and people in general) discovering her for the first time. Alwyn did a brilliant post about her favourite things to promote YA Shot, which you can find here if you want to check it out.

I read Radio Silence earlier this year. From the moment I started reading it, I couldn't stop. This book was real, current and raw. It felt like such an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be a teenager and refreshingly is not a love story! I wish there were books like this when I was a teen and I'm so glad it exists now.

Anna Marie McLemore has become one of my favourite authors. The Weight of Feathers and When the Moon was Ours are beautiful, original and magical. Her writing sweeps you into the world and gives you all the feels! I can't wait to read what she comes up with next.

Laini Taylor is my favourite YA author so I was almost unbearably excited to get an advance copy of Strange the Dreamer. The only reason I haven't read it immediately is that I'm trying to savour it. The writing is just gorgeous and the plot and characters are stunningly original and realistic. I predict that this will become one of my favourite books of all time.

Based on this year, I have no idea what 2017 will bring (though I'm certain it has to be better!) At least we know that it will bring books and bookish conversations.

Merry Christmas everyone and a happy 2017!

Creeper Man by Dawn Kurtagich - review

Publisher: Orion Children's Books (14th July 2016)

US Publication title: And the Trees Crept In (6th September 2016)


When sisters Silla and Nori escape London and their abusive father, Aunt Cath's country house feels like a safe haven. But slowly, ever so slowly, things begin to unravel. Aunt Cath locks herself in the attic and spends day and night pacing. Every day the forbidden surrounding forest inches slowly towards the house. A mysterious boy appears, offering friendship. And Nori claims that a man watches them from the dark forest - a man with no eyes, who creeps ever closer. . . (Publishers' blurb)

When I read The Dead House last year, it really stayed with me. I'm not easily rattled or surprised by a book and The Dead House well and truly got under my skin! I put off reading Creeper Man until I was in the mood and it was everything I wanted.

First, take a minute to check out that cover. I love it for so many reasons and it gives me a little shudder every time I look at it.

One of the reasons why I adore Dawn Kurtagich's writing is that her books don't follow a straightforward narrative. There are extracts from characters' journals and other titbits that lend authenticity to the plot.

My favourite part of this book is the world building. You've not only got this disturbing, oppressive world that is shrinking as the trees creep in. Subtle details are also used to create a detailed picture of a crumbling outside world.

The characters are another fantastic part of this book. All of them, even those who appeared briefly, made a meaningful contribution to the plot and felt like heroes of their own stories. 

There weren't a lot of lighter moments in this, though for me that suited the building sense of threat and inevitability. It's a genuinely scary book with the qualities of the darkest, best kind of fairy tale. 

This is another original, surprising book by Dawn Kurtagich. If you like being scared, I highly recommend it.

Dear Charlie by N.D. Gomes review

Publisher: Harlequin Mira Ink HarperCollins (20 Oct. 2016)

I've had a short break from blogging but I'm back to review a fantastic book!

Dear Charlie is a hard book to read but also an important one. Before I launch into the review, there are a few potential triggers that I want people to be aware of including school shootings, suicide and depression.

At sixteen, Sam Macmillan is supposed to be thinking about girls, homework and his upcoming application to music college, not picking up the pieces after the school shooting that his brother Charlie committed.

Yet as Sam desperately tries to hang on to the memories he has of his brother, the media storm surrounding their family threatens to destroy everything. And Sam has to question all he thought he knew about life, death, right and wrong. (Publishers' blurb)

I have a lot of complex feelings about this book. At times I enjoyed it and felt uplifted, though because of the subject matter there were some very hard scenes to read. I'll try to unpick this in a bit more detail.

The narrative voice is utterly convincing. Sam seemed like a real person and I really felt for him. This sent my emotions reeling because they followed Sam's through the course of the book. I don't always read books that push me to explore difficult emotions but this book handled these areas really well.

I liked the 90s setting and found it very convincing (since this was when I was a teen)! The public reaction to the terrible events also felt realistic. I felt some echoes of 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' in the time period and relationships, though I loved that book so it isn't necessarily a bad thing!

Based on current world events, I think more people should read books about the effects of violence. I might not have enjoyed everything about this book but I think that was necessary given the subject matter. I'm really glad that I read this and I hope lots of people do.

Revenger by Alastair Reynolds Review

Publisher: Gollancz (15th September 2016)

The galaxy has seen great empires rise and fall. Planets have shattered and been remade. Amongst the ruins of alien civilisations, building our own from the rubble, humanity still thrives. And there are vast fortunes to be made, if you know where to find them...

Captain Rackamore and his crew do. It's their business to find the tiny, enigmatic worlds which have been hidden away, booby-trapped, surrounded with layers of protection - and to crack them open for the ancient relics and barely-remembered technologies inside. But while they ply their risky trade with integrity, not everyone is so scrupulous.

Adrana and Fura Ness are the newest members of Rackamore's crew, signed on to save their family from bankruptcy. Only Rackamore has enemies, and there might be more waiting for them in space than adventure and fortune… (Publishers' blurb)

This book was exactly what I needed. I've read a lot of great books recently but this is one of my favourites. It's deservedly been classified as crossover fiction that will appeal to adults and teens.

I consider myself a big sci-fi fan but I don't necessarily understand all of it... This reminded me of Firefly, in that it felt very accessible at the same time as seeming authentic and richly researched. I wasn't surprised to discover that Alastair Reynolds used to be an astrophysicist for the European Space Agency! I think that's what lends such authenticity to this story.

I also really loved how this book combined elements of my favourite genres, from the obvious sci-fi, to elements of history, westerns and horror. These elements complimented each other well and came together to create something original. I was particularly in awe of the mythology that underpinned this world. I've not come across much sci-fi that does this so well, adding depth without overpowering the plot.

It won't come as much of a surprise that I read a lot, which means I often spot a lot of familiar plots and see them coming early on. It was great that this book genuinely surprised me over and over again!

Another of my favourite things was the characters. Like the plot, the characters were fresh and interesting. What an amazing idea to pit two young girls against a mysterious female space pirate! I quickly became invested in Adrana and Furas' story because of their bravery, intelligence and curiosity. I also loved that this was about sisters, a relationship that I'd love to see explored more in fiction.

This book appeals on so many levels that I think most people would enjoy it. If you want  a masterclass in writing, characters you can root for and a gripping plot, you don't need to look any further.

  

If you liked the sound of this, now try Starflight by Melissa Landers.

Barefoot on the Wind by Zoe Marriott Review

Publisher: Walker Books

Author: Zoe Marriott

I received this copy of Barefoot on the Wind from Walker Books in exchange for an honest review.

A magical retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” set in a fairy tale Japan. A companion title to Zoë Marriott’s critically acclaimed Shadows on the Moon. There is a monster in the forest... Everyone in Hana’s remote village on the mountain knows that straying too far into the woods is a death sentence. When Hana’s father goes missing, she is the only one who dares try to save him. Taking up her hunting gear, she goes in search of the beast, determined to kill it – or be killed herself. But the forest contains more secrets, more magic and more darkness than Hana could ever have imagined, and the beast is not at all what she expects... (Publishers' blurb)

This book had a lot to live up to because Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairy tales! As soon as I started Barefoot on the Wind, I fell in love with the writing and the story. This is a stunning and creative take on the beloved story.

Zoe Marriot's writing is gorgeous, evoking both the fantastical version of Japan and the dark, beautiful quality that I love about traditional fairy tales.

I was lucky enough to hear Zoe talk about feminism at the YA Shot Convention and she described her goal of reinventing the original story on a foundation of feminism. I really liked this aspect of the book, that Hana wasn't constrained by the tropes of fairy tales or the time period. She was very much in control of her destiny and she didn't need anybody to rescue her!

The plot of this world was very richly imagined. I loved how the fairy tale was used to underpin the story but there were so many layers added to the narrative and the mythology behind it.

This book has made me want to read more fairy tale retellings and lots more books by Zoe Marriott!

Gravity by Andy Briggs - blog tour giveaway

Publisher: Scholastic (6th October 2016)
Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gravity-Inventory-Andy-Briggs/dp/1407161806
Series: The Inventory (Book 2)
Eeek! Think that’s a monster? Nope: it’s a person. What terrible weapon could do this…? Errr – well, that used to be top-secret. Problem: it’s not quite so secret anymore. Dev messed up big time the day he let the ruthless Shadow Helix gang into the Inventory. What is the Inventory, we hear you ask? Well, it’s the secret lockup for all the deadly battle tech the world is NOT ready for. Which is why letting it get nicked was a REALLY BAD IDEA. Now the Shadow Helix have Newton’s Arrow: a terrifying weapon that messes with gravity, causing … well, you get the picture from this book’s cover. Dev and his mates HAVE to get it back – even if it means crossing the entire globe. To stop this evil, no trip is too far! (Publishers' blurb)

Giveaway

Iron Fist was the first book in The Inventory series and one of the best middle grade books that I've read for a long time! You can check out my review here. I'm really excited to get stuck into Gravity (the second book in the series) and for now I have a giveaway! To win a set of the books (Iron Fist and Gravity), all you have to do is retweet my pinned tweet or leave a comment on this blog post. 

To find out a little more about Andy Briggs, you can visit his website or follow him on Twitter.

Website: www.andybriggs.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/aBriggswriter

Andy Briggs is a screenwriter, producer and author of the Hero.com, Villain.net and Tarzan series. Andy has worked on film development for Paramount and Warner Bros, as well as working with Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee and producer Robert Evans. With a strong social media following, Andy tours the UK regularly, doing festival, school and library events.


Tour Schedule

There are loads of fantastic stops on the blog tour and you can check out more details below.

Monday 17th October

Fiction Fascination
Heather Reviews

Tuesday 18th October

Kirsty Leanne
Emma’s Bookery

Wednesday 19th October

Bookish Outsider
Book Lover Jo

Thursday 20th October

YA Under My Skin
Luna’s Little Library

Friday 21st October

ArtsMum
Wonderfully Bookish

Saturday 22nd October

Library Girl and Book Boy

Sunday 23rd October

An Awfully Big Adventure

Monday 24th October

Tales of Yesterday
YA Yeah Yeah

Tuesday 25th October

It Takes a Woman
Sister Spooky

Wednesday 26th October

Bibliobeth
The Books Bandit

Thursday 27th October

MG Strikes Back
Read it Daddy

Friday 28th October

Snuggling on the Sofa
Live Otherwise

Saturday 29th October

Bart’s Bookshelf

Sunday 30th October

Kirstyes

Happy reading and good luck with the giveaway!